THE EMPTY STAIRCASE

I close my eyes to sleep,

and what do I see?

The staircase from my past.

The stairs from my

elementary school.

I can hear the children’s voices

as they climb the stairs to classes.

I hear their shouts as they descend

to the basement for lunch.

I can’t see their faces.

I only hear their voices.

The staircase waits for me.

If I return,

will my dream go away?

I drift back to sleep and

dream of the empty staircase.

THE LONE ECHO

THE STAIRCASE

I close my eyes to sleep,

and what do I see?

The stairs from my

elementary school.

I  hear children’s voices

as they dash to their classes.

I hear their shouts

as they run to the basement for lunch.

I can’t see their faces

but only hear their voices.

All I can see is the empty staircase,

the lone echo of my childhood.

ECHO

THE STAIRCASE

I close my eyes to sleep,

and what do I see?

The staircase from my past.

The stairs from my

elementary school.

I can hear voices

as the children run up the stairs.

to their classes.

I can hear their shouts

as they run down 

to the basement for lunch.

I can’t see their faces.

I only hear their voices.

All I can see is the empty staircase.

The lone echo of my childhood.