Numbing the Pain

We numb the pain.
One in the workshop,
One in the school,
One in the street,
One in the metro,
One in the prison.

After days, weeks, months, years—
Sleepless nights,
Fever,
Shivers,
Sweat.

For having nothing,
No freedom,
No comfort,
No justice.

With wire,
With salt,
With masks,
With rage,
With blood,

We numb the pain.
And we know—
A rotten tooth,
Sooner or later,
Must be pulled.

Toumaj Salehi, the imprisoned rap singer from Evin Prison in Tehran: "After six months of reporting tooth pain, after weeks of sleepless nights, fever, chills, and sweating from the pain, with no tools available, I performed a root canal on myself using a mask wire and salt, enduring unbearable pain."

October 4, 2023