basement

down the basement stairs...
my dad sends me to get the wine.
the candle flickers, struggles
to breathe in the suffocating darkness.
fear chisels at my heart,
chunks of courage exploding 
in every direction.
i shouldn't be scared, but
the rack hides in the shadowy corner
behind walls of imagined monsters,
robbers, kidnappers, killers...
i pause, in one deep breath i gather 
up the chiseled chunks of courage.  
i charge forward
crashing through my delusions.
with the bottle in hand, i burst
back toward the stairs, 
the monsters blow at the flame 
as i rush by, leaving me with a smoking candle
and no light.  as i reach the light
of the kitchen hallway, i promise myself
that never again will i go
down the basement stairs.