Thought-provoking poem for Halloween.

On this night of ancient tradition,
people pretend
instead of pretending
they do not pretend.
When the barrier between the worlds
of the dead and of the living
is the thinnest,
we are the most real.
We are closest to our natural state
when we are closest to death.
The rest of the year, we hide in disguise,
conforming to norms,
trying to be something,
playing many roles,
wearing many masks.
But when we dress in costume,
we are free of all those burdens.

We are free to be ourselves.