I was thinking...

Samhain. No, it's not pronounced 'Sam hayn.' It's pronounced closer to 'sa-oo-hwen'. That is the major pagan celebration, from what I understand, that gave birth to the eventual holiday of Halloween. What, then, was it a celebration of? First, disregard that I ended that last sentence with a preposition. It's time to let go of that rule (at). Secondly, it was a feast to celebrate the end of the harvest and the survival of those who made it through the year, up to that point. Pagans would gather all of their family and friends, light a huge bonfire, and bring a bunch of food they'd harvested, and eat, drink, and be merry.  This was an especially important time for them to do this, because what was coming was the 'dark half' of the year, when nothing grows and it's deadly cold. The dark half is where women would lose their babies, when children and the elderly would get sick, and when there was no guarantee all would have foo

There's too much fear, now, to avoid Like bullets raining from the sun But, with so much shady cover Put on your dancing shoes and run. Under the canopies there's singing Their faces are pale, but still have fun All hum and laugh at hazards coming So, put on your dancing shoes and run. Your partner might fall as a heap in rhythm Like a jolly tree hacked from stump to none Screaming pain can sound like songbirds So, put on your dancing shoes and run. I promise seeing is not required The light will dim when the wick is done There's hair and oil from the piles to burn, though So, put on your dancing shoes and run. And, when the hailstorm breaks your shelter The dripping fire has finally come Smile! Your scalp will start to tickle So, put on your dancing shoes and run. Have you not yet kicked down your door? A curious storm has now begun! The brass band for the end is tuned So, put on your dancing shoes and run.

Ghast by Jessica Muni The house was dark except for the tiny stage-light colors shining from the family's internet of things, situated all over from the television room to the bathroom. This made it a trick to walk, since each little light didn't offer much revelation in the dark of a minefield of clothes, toys, and papers the two parents were too tired to care about by bedtime. The man of the house, Roger, was the one gently toeing through the shady minefield to the bathroom, with careful steps and careful thoughts in his periphery. As Roger was walking to the bathroom, he glanced through a window, absent of any reason to do so. Between yawning and turning his head to the bathroom door, he paused and reversed his last step. He double-checked what he thought he saw through the window in the backyard, and his uncertainty became certain. Out on the lawn, lit by muted floodlights from the garage, was the figure of a girl in a long white dress. She had long black hair

Gun violence, especially a mass shooting, is quickly attributed to violence in media, particularly video games, by politicians. Since the logic of those political figures seems to be if something violent happens then it must be the result of something the perpetrator witnessed in a form of media, then why is that same logic not applied to sexual misconduct and sexual exploitation in media? Why does pornography get a free pass after every new report of influential people committing sexual atrocities? From teachers and parents to celebrities of every sort, I’ve never seen an angry Republican or Democrat stand over a pulpit and vehemently point the finger at the pornographic material being to blame for a person’s sexual assault, no matter their age.  The analogy seems to be clear: if violence in media leads to violent behavior, then sexual misconduct in media leads to sexual misconduct. No, I don’t have any figures to back that up, statistically, however, as a layperson who

There's a myriad (or There's myriad, if you're a cave-dweller) of evidence that dwellers of every kind are capable of creating issues far beyond what they were given at birth. I mean, I've got a subscription, I keep getting so many issues. What I want to convey is not that people imagine their issues. I know I don't. What I'm saying is people can make decisions, outside of illicit drugs and what not of course, to incubate greater symptoms than need be. It's often told to me that I tend to think deeply. I wonder how much more normal a life I would live if I didn't, though. It's my experience that you can stay deep for too long, and what drowns is a simple understanding of life. But, I've been on the surface, long since, and I think I'll take the deep.