Bouncing off the Target  

                                                By: A.X. Bueno

You prepare to take the shot 

You focus your eyes as you put the nock on the bowstring and place the arrow 

From there it’s a simple matter of pulling back the string and letting it fly

You take a breath and let go 

It hits for a brief instance and then it bounces off

You watch it happen as it flies back and lands a few feet away 

You thought it would go in but the target was thicker than you thought

That thickness means that you’re going to need a bit more force 

You pick up another arrow and get ready to take another shot

This is just a target it cannot be impenetrable it cannot 

You try to pull back the bowstring a little harder this time 

You hope for a successful hit but you only get another bounce 

You use the rest of your quiver of arrows but none can make the hit 

They do nothing but bounce off even though you see them hit

They leave small marks where they land even though they can’t make it in

A bunch of arrows sit under the target, shots that just weren’t quite good enough 

But the fact they came close 

That they touched the target makes you continue to keep going

You keep shooting your arrows as what should have taken minutes takes over an hour 

You sink your time into getting this single arrow into the target 

Picking up the arrows that bounce so you can make them fly all over again

Then finally Thunk!

It hits with a soft thunk and you smile

It may not have hit the bullseye but you did it 

You got it in and hit one of the surrounding rings

You soak in success for a minute before picking up another arrow 

You know you can do it now so only the rest of them to go 

You prepare another shot and just let it flow