To my waxed angel:
If only I could go back and tell you one more time
The danger of chasing after a future so bright it will burn you

If only I had flown below you
So as to catch you on my wings and carry you to where you could not be harmed

If only you had listened
My son
My Icarus
My angel
If only you had listened to me, you would still be here with me

To look at my plans and improve upon them
To sit with me, to drink tea as we watch the sun rise and speak of philosophical things  we only think we understand
To stay up until morning, impassioned with an idea that we believe will fix the world

Oh, my Icarus
My life is like our labyrinth now
One twisting turn after another, lost without you
My demons haunting me like our Minotaur, my once-believed greatest fear

The sound of that splash
The sight of those feathers floating down slowly
The sun beating down on my neck and arms, taunting me with that false warmth

Oh, my Icarus
I cannot deal with their scorn now
Their laughter at my armfuls of sketches and drafts
These taunts that you would erase with one dazzling, knowledgeable smile
This burden of wisdom, so light when shared with someone, is now too much to carry

What I would not give to be trapped inside that prison now with you
To be stuck inside that small room that seemed so much bigger when you filled it with  music
What I would not give to go back to that moment on the window sill
To throw those wings into the crashing waves below
To lock the door and bolt the windows
To hold you in my arms

Oh, my Icarus
If only the gods had warned me that those who fly the highest
Fall the farthest