At the top of the staircase

In the dark,
At the top of the stairs,
Something stops you,
From going anywhere.

You stop and listen,
It is silent no more,
Between quiet innocent breaths,
And a big heavy snore.

When you go down,
You know what awaits,
But fear penetrates,
And you imagine bad fates.

But you get over your fear,
You quietly go down.
You reach your goal,
But you miss the sounds.

The rush, the adventure,
The long, hard, stare
Why such a big deal
To go down stairs?

I guess they aren't just stairs,
And this is no boff,
Everything's different
When the lights are off.