Karen Rigby

Why My Poems Jump Speed Rope

Isn’t it erotic? How a double
under trick has less to do
with power
than control in a wrist
rotation? Timing matters. So, too, the spring

in takeoff and landing
rhythmic slap
groove the brain tracks.

I love the clean arc rope makes of air
when there’s no slack: vaulted ceiling

as a body below touches
pavement. I’m a sucker for grace,
even its punishments.

Repetition is prayer for the driven.
Memory one more path

to euphorias. About glorious names for muscles—
gracilis, adductor magnus—
it’s not marble
I love, nor beaded salt
but satisfaction

hitting the mark. Shaving seconds. How to build
a pylon from burning thighs.

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Karen Rigby is the author of Chinoiserie (Ahsahta Press). New work is forthcoming in Poetry Northwest and Southern Humanities Review. www.karenrigby.com