The Dark at the
Bottom of the Stairs

doesn’t go away when the light's switched on.

There’s a splotch low on the wall
to the left of the bottom step
that moves -
shrinks and swells -
undulating upward,
erasing the light . . .

Pam Jessen

As a child, Pam Jessen lived in fear of basement monsters but has since made peace with the one in the corner behind the furnace.