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