GILLS

If you find yourself

suffocating

in a pond

of your own making,

gasping for air

in the shallowest of pools

that keeps shrinking

in all around you

day by day,

hour after hour,

minute by minute,

don’t fool yourself

into thinking

that you can’t drown.

You can.

And you will.

You will choke

on your own breath

if you are not careful.

And it won’t be

the air’s fault, either.

It will be yours

and the way you let

the oxygen in.

Maybe its time,

to shake off your gills,

grow a pair

of legs,

stand up,

leave the puddle behind,

and put some crampons on

and start climbing.

Don’t go it alone, though.

Be sure to bring

a city of Sherpas

with you.

You’ll need them.

You won’t survive

without them.

‘Cause you can’t carry

what you’ll be carrying

all by yourself

while also acclimatizing

to air as thin as faith.