The Symbolism of Archery

The marksman
hitteth the mark
partly by pulling,
partly by letting go.

-Egyptian proverb

In any reaching
I pull inwards,
I let go, outwards.

In a relationship,
with another,
my personal drawings

pull this person
to me — then,
they are released:

an arrowflight
lofted skyward
to another orbit

and while I might
hope for a happy
arc, the downward

return to earth,
to each, might
shatter a shaft

before renewal —
to each: the archer
and the arrow

in each, the pulling
and in movement,
the letting go.

One arrow transits
in new trajectory,
another drawn

from the quiver
of living, passing
anew.