THE CRUELEST MONTH February 19, 2026

“April is the cruelest month,” T.S. Elliot wrote in his 1922 poem, “The Waste Land.” I disagree.

Those words begin Part I, “The Burial of the Dead” and present a world filled with post-Great War despair. I find more gloom in my own choice of cruelest month.

March? They say it comes in like a lion but goes out like a lamb. Winter turns into spring. Proof: Baseball spring training concludes, and the regular season begins. Nothing cruel about that.

How about November? The days really grow dark. December darkens them further, but the holiday season offers a special light. January? Winter continues, but that’s expected. 

My nomination for cruelest month: February.

Okay, if you’re a football fan, you watch the Super Bowl on February’s second Sunday. But 28 of the league’s 30 teams have been eliminated. My San Francisco 49ers were sidelined. (I did enjoy the game though.)

So what is it about February? Winter fatigue sets in big. The days may be getting longer, but there’s still less daylight than dark. In San Francisco, the beginning of the month was sunny and pleasant. But February loves to tease. Rain and cold followed. Most of the rest of the country got slammed. Winter just isn’t prepared to let go. 

This February piled it on by chilling us with more of the same insanity. The  possibility of war with Iran looms. There’s no defined endgame, so it could engulf the Middle East. War might end badly for the ayatollahs but leave the Iranian people out in the cold with a government led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Or, Iran may fragment among several warlords. Peace in the region will not likely arise.

Also, the threat to free and fair mid-term elections will continue. Donald Trump wants Republicans to take over elections. Unconstitutional but so what? Trump’s rants may lead to ICE and other federal personnel—armed and masked—defy the courts to appear at selected blue and purple polling places to frighten off registered voters.

Not to mention that Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe may well gived up the ghost of alliance and say, “Farewell. It’s been good to know you.” Our loss is China’s gain. And Russia’s.

Further, this week, Trump’s business attorneys filed trademark applications for airport names. To wit: If a city like Palm Beach, Florida—home of Mar-a-Lago—wants to rename its airport Donald J. Trump International, it will have to pay Trump a licensing fee.

Once, naming an airport, highway, school, theater or other piece of infrastructure represented the bestowal of an honor the recipient received graciously. Naming anything for Trump will represent a business transaction with citizens’ tax money lining Trump’s pockets. 

Finally, this Tuesday, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. The state of America is perilous. It’s hardly far-fetched to say that attendees in Washington and the nationwide TV audience will hear echoes of Munich and Berlin, Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang. 

Do feel free to add to all the mind-boggling doings I’ve left out.

So, to fans of T.S. Elliot (true, relatively few Americans know who he is), I’m sorry that I choose February over April as the cruelest month. Still, I’d love what’s left of this February to prove me wrong.

We all have our fantasies.

To understand the background of today’s far-right, authoritarian descent, read my new novel, RIDE THE TYGER. Order from Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, iuniverse.com, or your favorite bookstore.