Melted Wings' Wax

According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring

a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry

of the year was
awake tingling
near

the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself

sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax

unsignificantly
off the coast
there was

a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning

The most important thing to note in this painting is the most minuscule of details. In this painting of every day life, of people going about there business and performing the day's labors, of ships sailing in the waters of this lush landscape, there is a much bigger, and much more special meaning. In the water there are legs. They are the legs of the fallen Icarus, the fabled youth who flew to high towards the sun with wings made of wax, dooming himself to crash into the water because of his lofty ambitions and lack of obedience and discipline. Sound familiar? I think it's important to remember not to be too much like this poor fellow. Because we are often so very, very much like him.