Brother of Icarus

Brother of Icarus

by Jaqi Hinkle

15-17

Daedalus had a second son
Icarus had a brother

And when one boy flew too high towards the sun
Too close to the waves flew the other

Were they not afraid to die?
Was the warning not heard over Iapyx and Icarus’s laughter?

Make sure to be careful of where you fly,
They were cautioned so many times by their father

For the heat of the sun could melt the wax
Or the sea spray would dampen the feathers

But once those wings were on their backs
Both forgot their mortal tethers

Daedalus kept an eye on Icarus, who was known to be brash
For his younger son he worried not

In a tragedy, it would be his eldest going down in a crash
Iapyx had more caution, more thought

When Icarus caught sight of sun and flew to reach for Apollo
His brother kept low out of fear

Their father thought it was Icarus he must follow
And distracted Iapyx saw how beautiful the sea could appear

He got a little closer
And saw Poseidon down below

Trying to get another glimpse of the ocean’s composer
All warnings did he forgo

When Iapyx realized the breaking waves had caused
His feathers to start to wilt

The cries of terror made the Sea King pause
Replacing his grin with guilt

The flying boy did his best to get away from the waters
But wet feathers weighed him down

He was pulled into the depths by Poseidon’s daughters
Same as his brother, he drowned

His father had been there, racing to catch
The son that fell from the heavens

But no one had been there as feathers detached
To save Iapyx or give comfort in his final seconds

Having lived a life in grandeur
Icarus died in a blaze of glory

Iapyx wasn’t a doer
And few remember his story