Soli Levi is a writer and is currently undertaking an internship at the Tiny Seed Journal. Her passion for poetry began in childhood as she grew up on the coasts of Greece and Turkey. After moving to Maryland, she released her first book of poems at the age of 12, selling the books door-to-door to raise money for a children’s charity. Her writing focuses on the relationships between people, nature, and place, and is enriched by her knowledge of 5 languages.
Soli now lives in Ireland, having just completed an MSc in Coastal and Marine Management in order to pursue a career promoting sustainable marine resource use. Previously, she worked as a Public Awareness Field Leader in a sea turtle conservation NGO in Greece. There, she was responsible for organising daily outreach activities and engaging with local communities to promote awareness of the importance of protecting loggerhead turtles and their natural habitat, as well as guiding a team of up to 25 international volunteers.
On top of her interests in nature and poetry, Soli also enjoys yoga, baking, travelling, and SCUBA diving.
Watch
Forget your watch.
Time yourself instead
by the waves,
and their intervals of held-breath rising
and resounding on the shore
by the first birdsong
from one dawn chorus to the next
by a rainy day punctuated by spells of sun,
or a sunny day filled with bouts of rain
or don’t time yourself at all;
go instead by your own rhythm,
your own whitening at the temples
or that fine-tuned moon-blood and all its cycles
(carved into bone so long ago by women – yes, the first calendars were made by women)
or by the increasing number of small descendants
sitting on your lap.
There is more to time than can be timed.
Forget your watch.
-Soli Levi