Years of Experience with Bows and Arrows

Poet Olav H. Hauge (1908–1994) was born in Ulvik, Norway, and attended an agricultural school before spending four years gardening on an experimental farm. The following poem is from the book The Dream We Carry, translated by Robert Bly.

Years of Experience with Bows and Arrows

BY OLAV H. HAUGE, TRANSLATED BY ROBERT BLY

What you are supposed to hit
is the bull’s-eye, that black spot,
that precise spot, and the arrow
is supposed to stand there quivering!
But that’s not where the arrow goes.

You get close to it, closer and closer;
no, not close enough.
Then you have to go out and pick up all the arrows,
walk back, try it again.
That black spot is highly annoying
until you finally grasp
that where your arrow stands quivering
is also the center of something.

For reflection alone or together:

Read the poem aloud more than once, preferably with multiple readers.

What word or phrase stands out to you?

What about that word or phrase draws your attention?

What is the word or phrase you chose calling you to do or reflect more deeply on?