the steps

the concrete steps
go straight up along
the grass slope.
a rail beside them.
on the other side
is water.
geese.
people fishing.
rowing
along the shallow
lake.
a grill is on fire,
I can see a plume
of smoke
across the blue sky.
but these steps are
hard.
each year
they get harder to
run up
without stopping.
without
bending over to rest
and catch my breath.
each year
there seems to be more
of them.
steeper too.