The 9/11 Stairwell

My words become a chant,
“Follow in single line,
We’ll all get out together,
One step at a time.”

Choking smoke thickens,
The walls close in,
A darkness squeezes the light,
No sun to shine again.

We stop to the rumbling,
From above comes falling clutter,
Sounds reach ever closer,
Our stairs groan a shudder.

One falls, then another,
As I yell to go faster,
I turn to look behind,
To see it doesn’t matter.

The tower has come down,
To lie all around me,
I fight to draw a final breath,
My family to never see.