Icarus lived with the boldness of youth

Icarus, Henri Matisse, 1947

Icarus lived with the boldness of youth,
he thrived as he glided, ecstatically flew
as the sun that enraptured him melted the glue,
so he fell in the sea and he died;
Daedalus retrieved him and cried. 

Narcissus loved himself too much they say,
he heard Echo’s yearning but spurned her embrace,
then saw his reflection and stayed as he gazed
and he wasted away from inside,
his flame for himself unrequited. 

Legend and fairytale, fable and fantasy,
epic and saga and myth, 
offering models of who I can be 
at the outer extremes of the scale,
as I craft different drafts of my tale. 

Wily Odysseus opted to roam,
he thirsted for fame while he yearned for his home;
his cunning and homecoming both are extolled
but his arrogance came with a cost,
that was paid by the crew who were lost. 

Heroes and heretics, bastards and bards,
with features profound and profane,
ascending and falling, losing and gaining, 
available there on the shelf,
while I’m telling the tale of my Self. 

Lee DeNoya - Taos 2021