ELEGY (iv.)

Ari Lohr

the moment 

the flame is white & screaming 

& Icarus surrenders to gravity, 

what left is there to do 

but succumb to the vicious heat

above the ocean’s 

brisk and gruesome casket?

beneath the flame, Icarus

shuts his eyes & counts down.

six.

though he’s still airborne,

his legs are dressed by

the desperate

and swift climb

of the moist air around him.

five.

he knows he won't survive,

but he’s unsure 

what will kill him first:

the impact

or the baptism that follows.

four.

he holds his breath anyway.

three.

what a meticulous and 

wicked god. Icarus opens his

eyes and wonders if he, too, 

was ever an astronaut.

after all,

why else choose to fly

if not for the temporary escape of gravity?

two.

the wind is saturated in ash 

& smoke. he stops counting,

but sees the waves grow larger.

one.

Icarus eyes the sea,

& then