Icarus’ Flame

After his fall, Icarus refused to look at the sun. He built a horse with copper wings and one enormous wheel, promising himself he would never leave the ground again. Yet every night the wings warmed as if remembering the sky.

A child beside the machine asked, ‘Are you afraid of falling, or of being seen falling?’ Icarus could not tell. At dawn he climbed on, but chose no audience and made no heroic promise. The horse rose only a few metres, circled the shore and landed unevenly.

Icarus laughed before anyone could judge him. The old flame was still there, but it no longer demanded that he burn. It had learned how to keep him warm.