Basic Training
Thaddeus Rutkowski

     My father stacked bales of straw in the back yard and tacked a bull's eye to the backstop. He gave me a compound bow and told me to stand a few yards from the target. As I drew the string to my ear, he said, "Keep the nock at your chin. Sight above the tip; don't sight down the shaft."

     When he wasn't watching, I shot straight up. The arrow vanished into the air and, moments later, fell back tip-first. I did not move until the arrow hit the ground.

     I decided to burn the archery target. I applied a lit match, and the straw caught quickly. The flames formed a wavering sheet that, at its peak, was higher than the roof of our house.

     The jet from the fire hose blew the burning straw into the air. A gritty mist filled the yard. Through the mist, black stalks rained onto the ground.

ISBN 1-882983-29-7
40 pages/$6