#78 Kevin Brophy 'Look at me I am skipping'

Skipping rope is easy

at first—

you keep the rhythm

and keep in the one spot

as you jump, jump, jump

at first—

while the ones holding the rope

they watch and marvel

as they count your jumps

until your breath begins to fail you,

your calves and thighs are burning

and your knees they wobble a little

as you begin to doubt that the rope

will slide beneath your soles

and clear your head every time—

oh, it was so easy at the beginning,

and now it is like a sentence

that won’t end and still won’t end

unless you find a way to stumble

         ungracefully

                           out of it.