Stone Step Poem by Sheena Blackhall

I am the 9th step on the Via Carlotta
500 years of feet
Have hollowed my stoney spine
I sag, I crack
Under the onerous weight
Of Hunchback Time.

Hurriers clatter staccato soles along me
I am the 9th click-clack
Of wellington, slipper, clog
My cold stone cools
The small hot feet of children

In winter, I am ice
My sides are curved with snow
With a crumbling smile

I am the 9th step on the Via Carlotta
I know my place
Keeper of cools
Of dust
Nurturer of shade

I am a servant in the ladder of motion
In the scheme of things
The lowest unpaid maid.