Free Hugs from Satan
Free Hugs From Satan
All Hallows’ Eve, Salem
I have to believe in some kind of redemption:
wickedness banished here
every Celtic New Year.
Not by those preachers cajoling and accusing
the crowds around them.
On this night, when the dead
move freely among the living,
there may be no better love than the love of Satan,
the man in simple costume
who stands holding a sign
Free Hugs from Satan
silently offering
kindness to strangers.
wickedness banished here
every Celtic New Year.
Not by those preachers cajoling and accusing
the crowds around them.
On this night, when the dead
move freely among the living,
there may be no better love than the love of Satan,
the man in simple costume
who stands holding a sign
Free Hugs from Satan
silently offering
kindness to strangers.
published in
Pieces of Salem: an anthology of Salem voices by Human Voices Press 2026