Paramecium, By Brian37 (AKA Brian37 on FB/META and @Brianrrs37 on Twitter/X)

In my pre stripling bloom
A chore that brought me gloom
Dred would always loom

Oblong tiny leaves
That had been taken
By strong breeze

Brown from season’s fall
Wind would carry all
Down the concrete steps

If they had gotten wet
They would stick like stamps
To envelops embedded camps

Mom ever the perfectionist
Would insist that none be left
The broom that had not swept

In October chill
My fingers had no will
Pealed them until they were raw

Bones brittle and frozen
After a couple dozen

Hours it seemed
Though probably just 15
Minutes

I hated that shoebox
Townhouse, and outdoor
Basement steps
(end)

The house chore I had as a kid I hated the most was having to sweep the outdoor basement steps and these smallest leaves were oblong and would stick like stamps to the concrete steps like stamps on an envelope, and using a standard broom would not get them up, so I would literally have to peal them up with my fingers.