At the dentist’s, I learned
a lot about mountains.

She numbed the left side,
and started double-tapping.

She asked: do you hear
it more than you feel it?

I do
not know, all I know

I need you
to understand that

I don’t mind some white
fillings here and there,

but I really can
not afford

to lose
another tooth.

About Yahya Ashour

Yahya Ashour | يحيى عاشور is an exiled Gazan poet and an award-winning author. He is an honorary fellow in writing at the University of Iowa and the author of the e-book A Gaza of Siege & Genocide. Ashour’s portfolio also includes three books for children and young adults in Arabic, as well as contributions to anthologies and journals, including Michigan Quarterly Review and Arrowsmith Journal. His poetry manuscript-in-progress received an honorable mention from the Emerging Writer Fellowship. He has headlined over 100 readings at US organizations and universities, including Harvard and Stanford. His poetry has been translated into more than ten languages, including Spanish and Bengali. He was the 2025 author-in-residence at UCLA and currently teaches at Pitzer College of the Claremont Colleges.

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