“Ode to a Bent Stick”......... -by Todd Hathaway

[Greywolf]

I saw this on another sight where I hang around, thought some here may not have seen it, .........thought you might also like to.
Here:

“Ode to a Bent Stick”

My bow, you’ve been a good friend.
As true as any known.
With you I’ve fought and cursed.
I’ve laughed. I’ve learned. I’ve grown.

Your patience never falters,
Silent…calm there on my wall.
You could go for years neglected
Then promptly heed my call.

With ignorance and clumsy hands,
I bent you to my will,
But you became the teacher
And I am learning still.

You put food on my table,
Clean and pure from nature’s hand.
You led me to where I stood in awe
At the beauty of the land.

You forged the bonds of friendship.
And with those friends I share
This life’s best adventures
In savory autumn air.

The greatest man I ever knew
First schooled me in your use.
And now Dad’s gone, yet with me still
Each time I draw and loose.

So it will be for my two boys,
Well after my demise;
Connections to their father
Each time an arrow flies.

Arrows cast—ah, cast a spell!
A mesmerizing arc.
And thirst is quenched within the soul
Each time one strikes the mark.

A stranger to this ancient art,
Finds folly in “the fling”,
But few things bring me greater joy,
Than two sticks and a string.

-Todd Hathaway

[Bill Gunn]

It is sometimes surprising how an inanimate object can come to mean so much to us.

And others may feel it is nothing but a chunk of steel or wood......