I married Uriah for his glory in battle,

bathed on the roof

because he was

never far from war.

I bathed on the roof

so that only a man higher than me

would see

Only a man higher than mine

would be able to replace him

only a man higher than mine

would see who I was

I bathed on the roof, made

love to the air, the jasmine

filling the dusk, the water

cooling my dusty skin,

the night descending

on my opening flesh

I married Uriah for his glory—

On the roof, that night, I woke

to what I had not known of love.

A man higher than mine

saw me on the roof, watched

my waking, brought me

to the towers of Jerusalem