Icarus’ Fall by Elizabeth Richards (Senior)

Author: Elizabeth Richards

Email: ericha13@aims.edu

Submission:

They tell you how he fell
wax dripping onto unmarred skin and burning it
They use it to manipulate
to tell you to always listen and tame your curiosity

They don’t tell you
how the sun loved him enough to let him go
How the sea cradled him when he fell
how the air left his lungs gently and mercifully quick

They never mention
the glee in his laugh as he fell
The way he smiled at the sun when he hit the water
the sense of freedom pumping through his now-cold veins

They told you he died
but it didn’t feel like that as he fell
They told you he was in pain
but his smile and glee said otherwise

Icarus fell into the sea
tumbling through the air in a free fall
He laughed as Apollo said goodbye
and Poseidon clutched his cooling body