Poem
Yusef Komunyakaa
Envy
Envy
Envy
Icarus imitated the golden plover,Drawn toward a blue folly
Above, looping through echoes
Of a boy’s prankish laughter,
Through an airy labyrinth
Of conjecture. A lifetime
Ahead of Daedalus, with noon sun
In his eyes, he outflew the bird’s
Equilibrium, wondering how this
Small creature of doubt braved
The briny trade winds. Surely,
In a fanfare of uneclipsed wings
Driven by dash & breathless style,
He could outdo the plover’s soars
& dares. But he couldn’t stop
Counting feathers against salty sky.
© 1999, Yusef Komunyakaa
From: Poetry, Vol. 175, No. 1, October/November
Publisher: Poetry, Chicago
From: Poetry, Vol. 175, No. 1, October/November
Publisher: Poetry, Chicago
Poems
Poems of Yusef Komunyakaa
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Envy
Icarus imitated the golden plover,Drawn toward a blue folly
Above, looping through echoes
Of a boy’s prankish laughter,
Through an airy labyrinth
Of conjecture. A lifetime
Ahead of Daedalus, with noon sun
In his eyes, he outflew the bird’s
Equilibrium, wondering how this
Small creature of doubt braved
The briny trade winds. Surely,
In a fanfare of uneclipsed wings
Driven by dash & breathless style,
He could outdo the plover’s soars
& dares. But he couldn’t stop
Counting feathers against salty sky.
From: Poetry, Vol. 175, No. 1, October/November
Envy
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