First Edit: Cold Concrete Steps

[Richard]

Cold Concrete Steps                                                                                                             
                                                                                
                                                                                                              Hurried
                                                                                                    from fear of being late,
                                                                                          cracks whisper
                                                                                to familiar feet.
                                                                      Grey muted
                                                            by storm clouds,
                                                  snow quietly settles
                                        into corners, crevices.
                              No one listens to that language
                    of chipped surfaces,
          hurried from fear
of being late.

Original:

Cracks from familiar feet
worsen with every step,
but go unnoticed each day.

Snow settles in corners, crevices,
pushed there by a wind
that used to give comfort.

Somehow even grey fades,
yet still solid against ungrateful
backsides, who'll curse the ice.

No one listens to that language
of chipped surfaces; deterioration
too easily left behind.