JUMP ROPE RHYME

By Tom Hansen

Tat tvam asi:

thou art that –

that leaf, that tree,

that cow, that cat,

that cloud, that sky,

that moon, that sun,

that you, that I –

for all are one.

So here you are

and there you go

and who you were

you hardly know.

I think this I

is only me:

a drip, a drop,

but not the sea.

Yet when I wake

from all these dreams,

then, like the snake,

I’ll shed what seems:

this mask, this skin,

this ball and chain.

I will begin

to fall like rain.

Our heart’s last home:

the wind-whipped foam,

the sweet, deep sea.

Tat tvam asi.