the front stoop

you remember your
grandmother
washing the front stoop.
scrubbing
the marble clean
with a bucket
of sudsy water
and a brush,
bent over
in her black
dress, her nylons
just covering her
fat Italian
calves. it was
more than just
getting the steps
clean, it was
something else
that you didn't
quite understand
as a child,
but do now, as
you scrub yours.