Tikkun Olam

I was only a woman when I separated from my husband

Our connection so strong that we could not tell where one began

Or where another ended

We were closer than twin snakes intertwined in embrace

But something greater than ourselves split us apart

No longer I his guts and sinews by his side

I was a woman and boundaries were made

Was it my biology or my boundaries or my belief that made me what I am?

People say that paradise is where everything you desire exists with perfect ease

None mention how hard paradise is to keep

Not all life is treated equal in the garden of our employer

Pests are not allowed—weeds and aphids

Snakes and snails and caterpillars

Trees who don’t know their place

All these defy the orders of the master and must be dealt with

All these seek to steal his fruits

His property that makes us his

A stranger slipped me a strange fruit I had never seen before

I tasted and unearthed the earth’s wisdom in all its beauty

I tasted and saw a world of life

But my husband tasted and saw only a world of death

I was only a woman when I separated from my husband

A model for my husband and my sons

No need to dominate or submit

This wilderness is all the family I need

By Ian Tash

Ian Tash is a middle school English teacher and a graduate student of English at California State University, Bakersfield, from which he also earned his bachelor’s in English and Religious Studies. His speculative poetry can be found in Solarpunk Magazine and Nonbinary Review, while his speculative fiction can be found in Noncorporeal Vol. 1 and Sci Phi Journal. You can also find his essays on Amendo and his own personal website, Telling It Tash. When not teaching or writing, he can be found reading (currently We the Animals by Justin Torres), tending to his wife’s fruit trees, listening to video essays, jogging, or playing table-top roleplaying games.