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The Rumour of Icarus
Published: 2011-06-22 15:44:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 12623; Favourites: 393; Downloads: 847
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Description
Icarus—there is a rumour that your father killed you, that
he bent your wings until they broke and then
told you, "Fly."
If this rumour is true, then it lives in the throats of
those fragile boys who wear your death like Cain's mark,
whose tender hands split like swollen tomatoes when
they pluck strangled seabirds, whose
arms slump beneath the weight of their father's genius.
And this rumour lives on
the under-skin of their eyelids so that when they die
or simply sleep
they dream of their fathers
or maybe just of Daedalus, standing with
his hands full of feathers and wax,
their blood-flecked down under his fingernails.
your face is gone, icarus, you are a warning & a tragedy &
the patron saint of boys who will not listen but also you are a god, icarus,
a god to these boys and still, when you fell—
said Bruegel in oils, Auden and Williams in verse—
no one gave a damn.
But Icarus—
they also say that your father strained the sunlight into an amphora
and told you, "Drink," as he poured Helios
down your throat.
And if what they say is true, then those fragile boys,
wearing your death like an aureole or maybe a crown of thorns
will stumble to bed wrecked and sobbing
and on the fevered underside of their eyelids
they dream of themselves
or maybe just of you, wandering drunk up to heaven.
Phaeton caught you in his wheels and
this may be why you both are dead.
But sometimes they say that the wings ensorcelled Daedalus, that
he simply forgot you and left.
And that is why you fell. Is this true?
These boys do not have much time and they need to know.
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Comments: 106
i love this. icarus was always my favorite story in greek mythology
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Never considered the possibility of foul play in Icarus's death... You've made this mythology buff learn something new! ^^
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An interesting theory as to what happened. Thank you for bringing this new, possible turn of events to my attention, and your lovely verse with it!
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Wow... I never knew that there was thoughts of foul play... Anyways! Amazing job my friend!
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1. it's a good contrast. repetition is good, if that is what you are asking?
2. no there is not much story to it - it's abstract poetry and it doesn't all make sense to me. for me, that means I am allowed to interpret it how I choose and the main reason I like this poem :>
3. if I had to pick one place, it would be in the 3rd stanza "they also say" maybe it would have been better to repeat the first stanza like you did in the next few lines, and said "there is a rumor" instead. but whatevs
4. I have not real the bible, so I did not understand Cain's Mark but I did understand crown of thorns. but I don't think it detracts from the thing on the whole
5. yes, I think they do.
lovely poem and congrats on the DD (I know i'm a little late ;_; )
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Beautiful poem. I love the classical references. With 99 comments I don 't think there is anything more I can add other then I like it, but here is comment #100.
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Your wonderful literary work has been chosen to be featured by =DailyLitDeviations in a news article that can be found here: dailylitdeviations.deviantart.… Congratulations on your DD!
Be sure to check out the other artists featured and show your support by ing the News Article. Keep writing and keep creating.
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*Was routed here directly from your journal entry out of sheer excitement!*
Congratulations on the 2nd DD 
In response to your questions (sorry, long comment!):
1) Before reading your description, one of my favorite aspects of the poem's structure was the paralleled nature of parts one and three. The realization of that contrast between parts one/three and two caught me by surprise on the initial read--in a very good way--as in I was immediately reminded of part one and the significance of part two, but not before reading about this second aspect of the rumor. I thought the 'ABA' format seemed very natural and well-handled, here :].
2) & 3) There is SO MUCH story in this! Not necessarily because of how much was written, but because of the weight that each line carries; your word choice never seems forced, and neither does it ever seem vague. The ABA format really helps, here, for it seemed that the only explicit reference to the poem's story occurs in the second part--which is just enough to consolidate one's understanding and is not overbearing by any means!
I feel as though any child who has ever struggled with a restlessness in his heart can see his image mirrored in this poem. Hopefully I haven't misinterpreted, but I thought the poem illustrated beautifully the perhaps very private fears of those who can be perceived as too passionate and too willful. The rumor of Icarus tells these individuals that they will fail--that their outward passion due to very sensitive insecurities will destroy them for the very reason that they fear too much, love too much, want too much, etc., to listen with a level head in some of the times that matter most. Perhaps Icarus was too restless for his own good, but if the rumors are true, then his restlessness condemns him to fall, and no one would "[give] a damn" because the failure was to be expected.
4) The biblical references are very apt (for the long-winded reasons presented in the second paragraph of 2) & 3) xD)!! Cain's mark and the crown of thorns are both reminders, just as Icarus' death is to the sensitive children who see themselves in his person.
5) The line breaks, especially in the first part (around lines 10-13), are well-placed, I think. On the first reading I did stumble a little bit after line 10, but as I read on I found that I wouldn't have wanted the line breaks to have occurred anywhere else. If they hadn't been placed as they were, the fullness in lines 10-13 would have been lost, where, not only does the rumor live on, but it lives on the inside of the boys' eyelids, a constant image of foreboding.
Sorry for the long comment!! "The Rumor of Icarus" is beautiful in a way that has me gripped in an "I WISH I HAD WRITTEN THAT" manner xD. Your poetry is striking and compassionate and incredible--congratulations again on the DD 
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Sorry for the long comment? My dear, I am practically jumping out of my skin with JOY! I am going to read and savor this comment and then I am going to answer it as your wonderful, perceptive observations demand to be answered. Thank you so, so much!!!
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Interesting that you mention that - line breaks are actually one of the more difficult aspects of writing free verse for me. I'm still considering how I could edit this poem; do you think you could expand on your comment? How/where exactly do the line breaks lack integrity? (I know I'm replying to your comment terribly late, so I totally understand if you would prefer not to revisit this. But if you would care to, I would really appreciate it, [: )
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I apologise for this reply being a bit tardy as well. I really think you have a great poem here, especially your imagery. Line breaks were one of the hardest things I had to learn to control when I broke away from being a formalist, so I understand.
Try to always break lines on "strong" words. "...father killed you, that" is ended on "that," which makes the line weak. I'd suggest breaking it on "you." The same goes for "...lives in the throats of," I would suggest breaking on "throats." Usually, it's suggested in workshops to not end on prepositions, conjunctions, etc... to avoid stripping integrity from the line. That was my only critique for your poem, really, besides the lack of a capital letter for your third stanza when the other two have them.
I hope that helped. Good writing!
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Thank you so much for the explanation! You've taught me something new - I wasn't aware that breaking on prepositions, conjunctions, etc. weakens the line. But it makes sense, especially considering that the same suggestions applies to prose.
Thank you again!
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Such emotion and power! An excellent piece!
The biblical references do stand out with the contrast between Greek myth and Judeo-Christian myth, but I believe that the similarity in the implications of the stories (a "father" being responsible for the death of his "son") is a strong enough poetic comparison that they do not disrupt the overall impact. If anything, the comparison enhances it, and so I'd leave them in.
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Ooh this is just amazing. What a fascinating concept! Congratulations on the DD!
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Thank you so much! When I read those speculations about Icarus's death being filicide, I knew I had to explore the concept somehow. I'm glad you enjoyed the result, [:
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That was a pleasure to read. I studied both of the poems you were inspired by this semester, and yours definitely fits nicely with them! Well written!
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Ooh, it's great to hear from someone familiar with the poems! Thank you for commenting, ^_^
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Powerful words~ I re-read it twice just to hear them portray through my mind.
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2) Is there a sense of story to this? Does it make sense? Or—perhaps these questions would be more relevant—what do you get from this? What does it say (or not say) to you?
I am an average person with average writing and reading capabilities, and i must admit i voiced an audible "what" after reading it for the first time. It was the type of "what" that you say when you are sure you heard something, but you couldn't discern the exact words, or maybe you discerned a word or two, but not enough to understand the sentence spoken. This poem presents its meaning mysteriously, and i could find it, but it would require five or so readings and heavy thought.
First impressions granted me a few things, however; as much DD poetry tends to be contemporary cause-related, my mind auto-contextualized this into a child abuse setting. The sense of urgency at the end emphasized it. But the shift between having known Icarus in the beginning to having forgotten him in the end makes me think it probably isn't related to that topic at all.
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Pieces like this are why I need to read more poetry.
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You are truly too kind,
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That was so beautiful, it gave me gas. Not really, but that is still one of the best pieces of poetry I've ever seen!
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Now gas would be a novel reaction...
Thank you for the comment! (And the laugh, xD)
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You're welcome on both accounts.
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You should officially publish this work. There are so many things that you can get out of this story that it seems like something right out of an official book of poetry. 5/5
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Aw, thank you so, so much for that!
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Your intrepid effort to say something anyway delights me, <3 Thank you.
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This is lovely and very deep, you have a lot of talent! Congrats on the DD, you really earned it! <3
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My jaw is gaping open. How do you poetry, this is amazing. *______* (AND GREEK MYTHOLOGY AND ICARUS AND ALL THE REFERENCES CAN I LOVE YOU NOW)
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YOU MAY LOVE ME NOW.
xD I love a good mythological reference. I'm glad you enjoyed this,
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EXCELLENT story. I love Icarus, the symbolism he has is just fantastic.
1) I think it worked well. I'm not well learned in literary structure, but as a reader, I found it good.
2) yes, I think there is definatly a sense of story to this. I like that the narrator is speaking directly to Icarus, it gives the poem a natural- for lack of a better term- feel to it, and it's a good read
3) Not that I could see. I COULD do without the "&" s though. that's just my preference
4) no, not particularly. correct me if I'm wrong, but a crown of thorns is more used to describe martyrdom, but it works well in your usage.
5) YES! they do make sense to me! the way you broke it up made an impact on me in that sense
Keep it precious!
~dmcr
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