The final step,
the heart pushing
beyond
the rib cage
and the icy breath
short stabbing
inhalation,
exhale, laboured
fighting,
screaming for air,
the lungs near
collapse now
join Hilary’s Step
in man’s decline,
a monster,
once tamed, now
breathing no more,
dead, gone, the folly
of climbing the mountain.
Ian D. Hall 2017