“Come my children, and gather around,
For there is a lesson to be learned.
About a young man named Icarus,
and his father’s words he spurned.
Now, young Icarus, he believed,
knew all there was to know-
But, as you hear this story-
you will learn it wasn’t so.
Icarus, and his father-
both prisoners of Crete,
Planned to make good their escape
from the Cretian tyrant's fleet-
They shaped two frames from willow wood-
and sheets of woven flax-
Then took the feathers of a frigatebird
put to the frames with sealing wax
His father warned him, as the wind began to blow-
“There is a danger to being aloft,
So, to keep the wax from turning soft
do not fly too high, or low.”
But , to his father he didn’t listen-
and soared higher toward the sun-
And when the wax began to melt
Icarus knew his fate was dealt -
And he fell, disappearing, into the sea.
Now, the gods on Mount Olympus-
believed it was a matter to discuss
So, they all agreed to change his name, to-
Dumbassius!!
Copyright-Richard Riddle 03-07-2014
Originally titled: "Lesson in Arrogance" Title revised 01-30-2016