Hothouse Hallowe'en
My furnace is fixed now and at last I am warm
I huddled a year a heating pad below me
Five blankets and one big fat cat above
While inside of me (as you know if you know me)
What got me through the year was simply love
Now home for me is finally a haven from the storm
Even more than a matter of degrees
By helpful busybodies I am told
My diet lacks sufficient calories
By which these bones might chase away the cold
Whatever the reason this autumnal season
At least this hothouse flower can feel at home once more
And soon this lofty ceiling will become the floor
For warm-blooded students above insulation
I am only what I am and it is too late to change
But the younger generation never finds me so strange
The students at the university are fond of me
They read my books and say that they enjoy my poetry
I will bloom in my hothouse while serving education
Having survived into fall I might make it after all
Fun has been in short supply but I intend to have some
Now this is Hallowe'en tonight so look out here I come
+Steven Curtis Lance
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