Poetry International Poetry International
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.
Close

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.

Envy

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère