If helicoptered 
to the peak of Everest, 
I’m told, 

I’d be unconscious
in three minutes,
dead in ten.

You, too.
This is good news 
for those of us

living lives
of slow, hesitant
ascent.

---

About the Author

Michael Brosnan lives in Exeter, New Hampshire. His first book of poetry book, The Sovereignty of the Accidental (Harbor Mountain Press), was published in 2018. A second book, ADRIFT (Grayson Books), is due out in 2022. His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals in the U.S. and elsewhere. He’s also the author of Against the Current, a book on inner-city education, and serves as the senior editor for the website Teaching While White. More at www.michaelabrosnan.com.