In "Giving Up," the speaker looks inward to control their own body and emotions through climbing. Yet, this too is a failure, as the speaker's arm dislocates on the very move they sought to master, leaving the speaker dejected.
"Lighthouse" is a poetic sequence that braids existential dread, dissociation, isolation and climate anxiety into an intriguing exploration of the speaker's internal world and an extended metaphor for worrying trends in our current society.
The final poem, "Zombie," is the undead reincarnation of the speaker. Their drive to push themselves to find solace and comfort in a chaotic world has now been corrupted into a drive to feed on crisis and suffering.
Cover image credit: "A dark lighthouse" by Kirsi L-M is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.