It's cold. I can't feel my fingers Or my toes For now Just my extremities are frozen But my frozen fingertips And my frozen feet Are telling me Screaming to me Fall is here! I turn on the heat Take off my clothes And grab a towel Leap in to the tub and With the quick twist of two knobs BLAST Comes the water from the shower head Spitting as hot as it can Steam instantly leaps off of my body And with it my feeling of chill As my vision clouds And the scalding drops Bonce off my skin Heat spreads to every inch of me Tickling As its small feet Travel across my body In the wake of its coming it brings (as it always does) Peace of mind And creative thoughtfulness Alternatively with each step Each tingle Is a piece of ice Leaving me In it's place replaced With warmth And comfort Every second that passes is different Quiet Listen to the million droplets Dive bombing the tile No thoughts. In the next second, A crowd of reporters enter my head Each louder than the last Each trying to make themselves heard "What does the future hold?" "How will you get there?" "What makes a man?" "Are you smart enough?" "Are you strong enough?" "Do you care enough?" "Are you ready for the world?" "Is the world ready for you?" "Are you anything really for it to be ready for at all?" Some are answered Most aren't But all are heard And then in the next second The buzzing crowd leaves for a while And is replaced by the sound of the shower head SHHHHHH Stop worrying SHHHHHH Stop thinking SHHHHHH Just stand and enjoy This heated reprieve From the cold outside