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