Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus by William Carlos Williams

[somehowfurious.livejournal.com]

According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring

a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry

of the year was
awake tingling
near

the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself

sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax

unsignificantly
off the coast
there was

a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning

Comments

[stellamemoria.livejournal.com]

I love this poem... :) Thanks for sharing.

[somehowfurious.livejournal.com]

No problem. It's a current favourite of mine.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Mm, this one's new to me! I like it.

[somehowfurious.livejournal.com]

It perfectly captures, I think, the essence of the original painting and the insignificance of Icarus' fall as portrayed by Brueghel.

[somehowfurious.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, I actually don't like the painting at all! I much prefer the poems based on the painting. Another poem about the painting by W. H. Auden has just been posted in this community in response to this post. You should definitely check that one out as well.

[orange-fell.livejournal.com]

I know . . . the legs . . .

A busy scene with a tiny splash . . .

[somehowfurious.livejournal.com]

I love idea of the painting and what the painting says. The aesthetic of the painting itself? Not so much. I can't quite put my finger on why that is though. I think it's something about the way Brueghel paints people that jars, especially the person in the foreground of the painting.

[the-surfacer.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really, really like this.

[mspixieears.livejournal.com]

Goddamn, WCW's skillz. So concise.