h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Beginning this journal entry in the last remaining quarter hour of Samhain. What others do on the 31st might not be the same, but this is what I do:
I remember the forgotten and nameless dead;
I remember the dead who I knew or who knew me;
I remember the dead I loved or who loved me;
I remember the ancestors, without whom I wouldn't exist;
I remember the people who touched my life, without whom I wouldn't be the person I am now;
I remember absent friends and long lost friends;
I remember those who died for a cause;
I remember those who died saving (or trying to protect) somebody else;
I remember those who died for no good reason at all;
I remember those who died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time;
I remember those who welcomed death as an end to their suffering.

That may sound gloomy and morbid, but most of it isn't; a lot of these people are remembered with affection and thanks rather than sorrow.

Yes I do a bit of divination as well, and probably might raise a glass and eat something more luxurious than usual, but IMHO those are adjuncts, rather than essentials. And if this becomes a bit introspective, that's partly because it's also the day before my birthday.

Now that is a Halloween celebration. It's nice to have a special day for these things. Remembrance is important.

thank you for writing such an insightful poem herenna. I found it very thought provoking.

Oh, and Happy Birthday!