Icarus

I thought you died, I said.
He answered, Why is it so hard
for people to believe I knew
how to swim? The moral of my story
is not to always follow orders
and play it safe. Just make your wings
out of something more durable
than wax.
But wood burns, canvas tears,
and metal grows fatigued, I said.
What fabric is safe
to trust with your life?
The fabric of dreams, he said.
I don’t know what that means,
I answered. Are we talking about
how to engineer good wings
or playing with metaphors?
What makes you think
there’s a difference? he asked.
Metaphors can’t fly, I said.
Maybe yours don’t,
he answered, flapped his wings
and leapt from the cliff.