Icarus forsakes the Nile

by T.P. Wilkinson / November 8th, 2015

Who are those pretenders
to deity
to democracy
who the heavens
so disdaining
debase our earth
bearing artificial suns?
To rise above
that tainted soil
through tears
the shrouds of sorrow
to disperse,
takes wings
with love’s wax welded
makes things
that jar our sleep
thundering
in our breasts
escape for human hearts
from those gods
bearing burning suns
searing our hearts
with their hatred so deep.

T.P. Wilkinson, Dr. rer. pol. writes, teaches History and English, directs theatre and coaches cricket between the cradles of Heine and Saramago. He is author of Unbecoming American: A War Memoir and also Church Clothes, Land, Mission and the End of Apartheid in South Africa. Read other articles by T.P..

This article was posted on Sunday, November 8th, 2015 at 8:04am and is filed under Poetry.