Icarus
 

As I fall
I watch my father
float to safety on
less rapid atmospheres.

His wings intact,
he hovers wisely
high above me as I

plummet. And yet
long after he lands,
long after he walks
back into my mother's

grieving arms it is
not his wisdom,
but my death
that will be celebrated.

My ribbons of wax.
My shout in the clouds.
A mute, blue sea

beneath me as I melt
and am finally
unfeathered.
At last I have

honoured my island.
I have passed beyond
family. I will be

falling for centuries,
suspended forever
in the rich, dense air
of legend.
 
 

Ian McBryde

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