I buy a fire engine just in case and look for signs of beetle kill in every tree that I climb to retreat for a while. There is something sublime about a lone red trash can filled with flames, steam wafting off tailpipes on a cold morning, the town whiskey spigot clogged and backing up amber into the river. The Sherpas suggest turning back by now. The Judas goat bleats me to continue up the ridge. If there was a time to use the pineapple in my pocket, now is it. I pull the pin. I think about fragmentation that makes us whole again. — KG NEWMAN
KG Newman is a sportswriter who covers the Broncos and Rockies for The Denver Post. The Arizona State alum’s first four collections of poems are available on Amazon. More info and writing can be found at kgnewman.com. He lives in Hidden Village, Colorado, with his wife and three kids.