Let it Ride
this week,
like most weeks,
has had its ups and downs
though, I am thankful
that it’s mostly been on the up
rounding it out, so far as weekdays go,
is today—
Friday
while getting into my flow state for a bit
I descend into our basement
to shoot a quick round of six arrows
from my trusty recurve bow
they call this style of shooting
traditional archery
these days
days when most enthusiasts
let their arrows fly
from highly modernized wonders
of design, manufacturing, and technology
bows which feature:
multiple sight pins, oriented for specific yardages,
highly-tuned compound pulley systems,
significant let-off when fully drawn,
plus other advantageous
bells and whistles
cutting-edge bows that feel more akin, in many ways,
to shooting a modern rifle
than they are
the ancient bows
of our warrior/hunter ancestors
BUT, when using an old-timey style stick and string
with no sights, let alone bells or whistles,
you’ve got to earn your confidence
by your hits
via a good bit of practice and
the development
of your archer’s intuition
and your humility?
well— that is earned by your misses
“Aim small,
miss small,”
I recite in my mind
as slowly draw back number one for Friday morning,
feel my aim, and
let ‘er fly
dead bullseye, baby…
though I don’t often do this,
I’m gonna cash in my bowman’s chips for the day
after only one shot
since I found my center
on the first try
mark it down in the “ups” category for this week
I’ll just let these other five arrows
have an early weekend
as for the first projectile
sharply piercing the nucleus
of my well-worn target block
I’ll just
let it ride
in singular satisfaction
Luke Austin Daugherty
4/18/2025
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Luke Austin Daugherty 