Take the stairway down 
      past strewn and damp-dappled
       rough hewn planks   
        broken cobbles holding the crush above 
         the weight of ruined rooms 
          feel for each step 
           hopelessness   choking thoughts
            your breath loud 
             proceed over
              splinters   torn photos   memories 
               a murmur ahead
                explains the dampness on your skin
                 the stirring of waters
                  your foot goes suddenly ankle deep
                   you sense the vast
                    current 
                     the stream bearing away 

                      nowhere else to go

P M F Johnson’s poems appear in The Threepenny Review, The Evansville Review, Nimrod International Journal, North American Review, and others. His ebook of love poems, Against The Night, is available on Amazon and elsewhere. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, the writer Sandra Rector. He can be found on his website.