In the Bathroom

Translated from the Arabic

In the bathroom,

I make sure the only window is shut

and plug the hole in the door

with a bit of cotton or chewing gum.

Then I undress,

with deep embarrassment and a visible trembling.

I hadn’t realized whose eyes

had come so near—

until I became utterly certain

that my body,

for ten years, perhaps more,

has been moving

within the range of some sniper,

or a shell, or a nearby explosion.

Notes:

This poem is part of the folio “Broken Lines: A Gathering of Exiled Poets,” curated by Laura Kraftowitz and Edward Salem. Read the rest of the folio in the July/August 2026 issue of Poetry.

Source: Poetry (July/August 2026)