Icarus III

a mixture
of water, air, and fire
rising to take flight
in a desperate escape
from the earth that
keeps them bound-

fire grows
as fire does.
fire overpowers
what water and earth
kept balanced.

what was solid
turns awry-
from earth
to something akin to
water born of fire
molten wax
slipping across
harvested feathers.

air cannot support alone
what belongs to the earth.

over-grown joy
turns quickly to sorrow
as earth and water
reclaim the wandering son.

a risk taken fails.
a perfectionist loses what matters most.

one soul
falls and falls
without the means
of saving himself.

he would not cry out for help,
in those last moments.
why burden someone
with a request impossible to fulfill?