Because I wanted to feel like an Amazon
I asked my father to build me a bow with arrows.
We went to the nearby woods that overlook
Forest Beach in the village of South Chatham.
My father, sister, and I followed
A wavy uphill path to the clearing
Where we found young oak trees
With pointy, strong branches.
We sawed off three branches
That looked like they would suffice.
We carved them and sanded them,
And we bent them till they could sing.
By the time we had finished tying the string,
The evening chill had descended.
We shot our arrows into the darkening sky
Where the stars scampered like red foxes.
Brookline, Massachusetts
