In order to fly forward, the arrow must be pulled backwards through the bow, and the bow must “swallow” the arrow that it then “spits” out as destruction. Fry’s list of riddle solutions, this poem has been interpreted as: Épinglé
Anglo Saxon Riddles Exeter Book
The two dumb creatures in the second line are two sticks rubbed together to make a flame (or two stones struck together to make a spark). When the man pulls up his robe, he puts the head of this hanging
