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brittany mason
Brittany Mason is currently a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her award-winning work has appeared in In Medias Res and Creative Communications Young Poet's Anthology.
Read more about what inspires Brittany. |
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Archery Trophies for My Father
I stared down the wooded lane, or rather down the neon sights resting seventeen inches from the bridge of my nose, and concentrated on four arrows already centered in a tiny, black ring. My shoulder blades graced each other as my taut muscles strained to hold perfect posture mandated by wooden blocks on the ground and my father’s dirty hand on my back. The string’s kisser on my cheek was all that I felt when my finger finally relaxed on the release and half my breath leaked slowly onto the fletchings. This same breath accompanied every sport I had ever tried my hand at in the vain attempt to earn a trophy for my totalitarian father. From the moment I could hold a gun, I practiced the techniques of accurate breathing and extreme concentration so that I, too, could take down a buck and earn that smile of approval- which could not be earned by juvenile art projects, songs, or stories. There’s nothing like the whistle of an arrow speeding fifty yards in an instant mixed with the pride of a father who feels nothing towards his own genetic replication. It was the target ahead of me that contained the parental affection I had sought after for years. And each thump of the arrow was a beat of his heart for me. So until my arms could not hold the tension and the terror, and my eyes could not focus on the wavering pinpoints dancing in my neon sight, I would continue to take my aim and pray to believe he came close enough to convince myself that there is something more to love than working for attention. |
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