"Envy"
By Yusef Komunyakaa
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
“Yusef Komunyakaa was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The son of a carpenter, Komunyakaa has said that he was first alerted to the power of language through his grandparents, who were church people: “the sound of the Old Testament informed the cadences of their speech,” Komunyakaa has stated. “It was my first introduction to poetry.” Komunyakaa went on to serve in the Vietnam War as a correspondent; he was managing editor of the Southern Cross during the war, for which he received a Bronze Star. He earned a BA from the University of Colorado Springs on the GI Bill, an MA from Colorado State University, and an MFA from the University of California-Irvine.”
Read more about Yusef here.
Upcoming at Savage Wonder
📅 September 10
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