In Our Time
Alden Nowlan
The newspapers speak of torture
as though it were horseplay.
This morning a picture of a Congolese rebel
being kicked to death
was captioned the shoe is on the other foot
and a story from Saigon
told of a Viet Cong prisoner
who complained of thirst
being overwhelmed by the hospitality
of his captors
who cheerfully refreshed him
and also his memory
by pumping a generous quantity of water
through rubber tubes into his nostrils.
Nowlan, Alden. “In Our Time.” Bread, Wine and Salt. Toronto: Clarke, 1967. 24.