TORTURES THE AMERICAN WAY Poetry by Athena M. Henderson Commentary by Scott Thompson Athena’s lifelong involvement with activism began when she served in the Greek Resistance against the Nazis as a young teenager. In 1967, a military junta known as the Regime of the Colonels seized power in Greece with the support of the CIA […]

MONEY by James C. Henderson Previously published in: Crossings at Carnegie, ed. The Tenth Annual Poet Artist Collaboration, Zumbrota: Theis Printing, Inc., 2011. Money, money, money… The whole world goes to bed and wakes up worrying about how there’s not enough—money. The capitalists tell us this is the natural order of things. They point out […]

CORRIDORS by Athena M. Henderson When the corridors are empty you hear the piercing noise of the iron gates slam shut. The echo penetrates your soul. You sit in a tiny cell a single bed, a table, a chair— eating potatoes swimming in clear water. You eat because you are hungry. Babies cry as they […]

GNATS by Athena M. Henderson The crown of my head touches the wall my toes touch the opposite wall as I lie on my grime-encrusted mattress. Gnats buzz about me and bite my arms, legs, stomach, face. My nails are full of blood from scratching. A soldier kicks my cell door and yells, “Don’t scratch.” […]