Tacos and Mental Health
Poem(audio)
Isn’t it peculiar…
People talk more about tacos
than they do their mental health.
They’ll go out of the way
to tout about their go-to taco spot—
but not dish on how they’re doing.
They go on... post their appreciation
about how authentic the carne asada tacos
are at Sal’s, on Zomato or Yelp reviews—
but to get to the tender meat
of the matter about their authentic selves?
Welp, no comment here.
No... they would rather go on
about how many hard shell tacos
they can eat at one sitting—
but in a heart-to-heart,
won’t bite about their troubled mind
and turn into shells of themselves.
Commentary of Poem:
In thinking about my years of mental health outreach efforts and after becoming a tad annoyed by usage of silly “taco” references
(especially, “Let’s Taco About It”), I came up with this sobering piece.
Tip Marinarena for the Taco and Mental Health offering:
If you need to talk (not taco) about it, dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Available 24/7 (USA). Se habla español. Dial 1 if you are a Veteran.
