Halloween
The Celts held that at the end
of the old year, start of the new,
the veils between worlds grew thin
and donned masks to confuse
evil spirits that might haunt them.
It was a fearful time,
but now we mask the children
and take them to beg for sweets
and mask ourselves to revel.
Beware of frivolity in dire times;
save revelry for when
we defeat the evil in our lives.
© Rafael Jesús González 2026
The Celts held that at the end
of the old year, start of the new,
the veils between worlds grew thin
and donned masks to confuse
evil spirits that might haunt them.
It was a fearful time,
but now we mask the children
and take them to beg for sweets
and mask ourselves to revel.
Beware of frivolity in dire times;
save revelry for when
we defeat the evil in our lives.
© Rafael Jesús González 2026
Halloween
Los celtas creían que al fin
del año viejo, comienzo del nuevo,
los velos entre mundos adelgazaban
y se enmascaraban para confundir
a espíritus malignos que los buscara.
Era tiempo espantoso,
pero ahora enmascaramos a los niños
y los llevamos a pedir dulces
y nos enmascaramos para pachanguear.
Cuida de frivolidad en tiempos peligrosos;
reserva la pachanga para cuando
derrotemos el mal en nuestras vidas.
© Rafael Jesús González 2026
Trick or Treat
I received a notice in the mail from the President of the United States, a senile and shameless corrupt liar who built his fortune on bribes and fraud and whose name has the sickening sound of a hob-nailed boot crunching bone, that reads:
Ninety dollars! A measly bribe for my vote by one who is doing all he and his fellow fascists can do to do away with Medicare entirely. An estimated 4.6 million working-age Americans have lost health insurance coverage. Because of his doing away with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) causing average monthly premiums to spike by 58%, have forced between 3 million and 5 million people to completely drop their healthcare insurance plans. Currently, about 30 million people have no health insurance and if these policy changes continue, 37 million will have no health insurance over the next decade. (How many deaths is that?) And the letter goes on with more lies.
Ninety dollars! And, he promises, each of us adults $5,000, the “Trump Dividend,” only if Republicans win the midterms. Bribes, by definition, always have strings attached. As for me, no bribe could ever be large enough for me to sell away my freedom. Leave that to the greedy, the corrupt, or the fool.
Trick or Treat? How many times does a liar have to lie before we stop believing them? The letter ends:
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