This week's prompt at OSI is Icarus. Being the non-history (of any kind) person that I am, I looked in Wikipedia to find out exactly who Icarus really was. This is what I found:
"Icarus' father, Daedalus, a talented and remarkable Athenian craftsman, attempted to escape from his exile in the place of Crete, where he and his son were imprisoned at the hands of King Minos, the king for whom he had built the Labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur (half man, half bull). Daedalus, the superior craftsman, was exiled because he gave Minos' daughter, Ariadne, a clew[1] in order to help Theseus, the enemy of Minos, survive the Labyrinth and defeat the Minotaur.
Daedalus fashioned two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers for himself and his son. Before they took off from the island, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea. Overcome by the giddiness that flying lent him, Icarus soared through the sky curiously, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted the wax. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms. And so, Icarus fell into the sea in the area which bears his name, the Icarian Sea near Icaria, an island southwest of Samos.[2]"
feeling quite infallible
giddy with his life
child testing his wings
did not heed parents' advice
a tragic ending
Please check out OSI for other poets' ideas and interpretations for this interesting prompt.
"Icarus' father, Daedalus, a talented and remarkable Athenian craftsman, attempted to escape from his exile in the place of Crete, where he and his son were imprisoned at the hands of King Minos, the king for whom he had built the Labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur (half man, half bull). Daedalus, the superior craftsman, was exiled because he gave Minos' daughter, Ariadne, a clew[1] in order to help Theseus, the enemy of Minos, survive the Labyrinth and defeat the Minotaur.
Daedalus fashioned two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers for himself and his son. Before they took off from the island, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea. Overcome by the giddiness that flying lent him, Icarus soared through the sky curiously, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted the wax. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms. And so, Icarus fell into the sea in the area which bears his name, the Icarian Sea near Icaria, an island southwest of Samos.[2]"
Thinking about how to incorporate this into a poem, I thought about teenagers and their incessant quest to always test the limits of life and their feeling of total infallibility and this 3 stanza haiku is what I came up with:
A Timeless Tale
a parents' love for child
gave wings to soar to great heights
his future was bright
feeling quite infallible
giddy with his life
child testing his wings
did not heed parents' advice
a tragic ending
Please check out OSI for other poets' ideas and interpretations for this interesting prompt.
On a quick sidenote...the poem I wrote for floating a few weeks ago (2 posts below) mentioned being on the brink of something big...well I am... and the Something Big is...SUMMER VACATION...which I am still not experiencing until Tues. at 9:15 when this Neverending School Year from Hell is officially OVER!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!
The pictures are all from Memorial Day weekend in Michigan.
As always- have a wonderful week and thank you for all the great comments- they are very much appreciated!
18 comments:
What a clever take on Icarus. All young people hope to fly to the sun!
Hi Patti, I like this. It is sooooo true so many times.
I used to tell people that the best parts of teaching were 1) Summer vacation; 2) Christmas break; 3) Spring break; and 4) a $$$$Summer class if I could get one.
Have a nice summer. :) Mine started in August of 2001 (I got a Summer class that year).
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Very well written, Patti, I have always enjoyed your postings.. excellent..one need to read and learn.. hope youngsters would understand the message here..
As a high school teacher, I know just how teenagers have the idea that they are infallible! Great take on the prompt!
Encapsulating the urges of our youth. Nicely done.
Enjoy your well earned holiday...poor love ! I seriously do not know how I survived teaching..something to do with putting food on the table!This is a good tale. If the kids don't do as they are told they are burnt by the sun and drop plop into the sea:)
I love where you went with this prompt...your words are so true. Teenagers truly believe they're invincible. Have a lovely vacation!
Thanks, Patti! You have me thinking of the times I did not listen but was nevertheless rescued and returned to my feet (of clay)!
Those are beautiful pictures Patti. I teach a couple of poems on Icarus. I enjoyed your poem. It's almost over, your school year. One of the best things about teaching is that you get to start over each year. There is always hope for a new start. Enjoy your summer. I hope to see you stitching sometime over the summer. If not, then I will keep in touch via these mediums.
thanks for the introduction!
very nicely done..you are an inspiration..
The sun gains distance as one ages! :) Nice work. The photos are lovely - looks like fun - happy, happy summer to you.
I like the way you connected it to contemporary times.
help me rewrite Greek tragedies
Also, please do hop on the Monday Poetry Train
Hello Friend ~
As I am writing this I am thinking how tomorrow at this time you will be finished!!! And I am going to lift up my lemonade and say a toast just for you my dear!
Your poem, as always, a sheer delight. It perfectly captures this story. As I read it I remembered this tragedy. Something most of us learn with less loss.
Many Blessings my friend and most of all ~ Happy Summer to come!
Fascinating! I went in the same direction, in fact- my daughter inspired me to offer this subject as a prompt.
Amazing, isn't it?
Day One ....isn't it great???
Deb B. is a great fan of Icarus...she teaches it every year. Your writing is so inspiring!
Those teenagers~always get burned!
Enjoy, enjoy enjoy......
P.S. Your photos were stunning!!! I felt as if I was right there on the beach with you.
hmm that is so true, so true...the pictures of the sun setting and the sea are are beautiful
Hi Patti,
Clever. Clever and I do believe true! Your words are so well written.
I hope that you are enjoying your break and doing all kinds of fabulous things with your family!!
Denise
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