i’m a modern day icarus
always flying too close to the sun.
not because of human hubris
but because i long for your warmth.
because what is life in this dark city
without your light?
i’d build a thousand false idols
if it meant bringing you back to life.
i’d fashion you out of clay
and plead for the gods themselves
to give a chance at rebirth.
i’d search for you for an eternity
and then some
if it meant proving
that you were still alive.
i’d turn back time
and make it so we never met
so you could never pick up the mantle
that was meant to be mine.
i’d give you all my memories in place of yours
and rescue you from hell myself
if it meant i didn’t lose the family
that i’ve always been so hesitant
to accept as mine.
Author's Note: This poem was originally part of my Batman-based NaPo collection from this past April. If you want the context for this character poem, you can check out the explanation at the end of the poem here!
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125,005 Literary Works • 672,805 Reviews
Hello! I think that this poem nicely portrays Tim’s angst towards his role as Robin. My favorite lines were ”because what is life in this dark city without your light?” This single question alone shows how he feels about the shrouded in darkness Batman.
But are you also writing a brief section with Batman’s perspective? Would Batman have wished he didn’t have a Robin to share his pain?
I wish you a lovely day/night!
Hello, Mage! I said I would read this poem, and here I am! And may I say, it didn't disappoint.
First, I adore using Greek myth as metaphors (most recognizably Icarus and Sisyphus for me), so reading another work that did so made me incredibly excited to see what you did with it. And the way you've used is a spin that I don't see too often, so it made it even better. Using Icarus as a love story rather than a story of hubris added this tang of tragedy that the everyday use of the myth couldn't do. Now, on to some of my favourite parts.
These lines together create such a powerful emotion that they just stuck with me. That guilt over meeting someone you love because they met you and you aren't good for them is a punch-in-the-gut message. Wow.
I didn't read the context for this poem because I wanted to go in blind, so I could be wrong here, but this ending deromanticizes the love that this poem is about. And I adore that. There aren't too many pieces that focus on how much familial love can burn too, so if that was your intention, I love that you did it here.
In the second stanza, I noticed a minor typo in the following lines:
Bring is in the wrong tense here and should be "bringing you back to life" rather than "bring" due to the tense of the word "meant." If the mistake was intentional, ignore this bit. It's just something I noticed.
All in all, this was another great poem from you, and I immensely enjoyed reading it! It had a fun take on an ancient myth and a poignant subject matter regarding how love can be a tragedy in its purest form. Amazing job!
Happy writing!
Wisteria
Hi Wisteria! I'm glad you enjoyed this poem, especially when you didn't have the context!
(Also, thanks for catching that typo!)
As for this part, it partially was! This poem is actually about both familial and romantic love. DC hasn't really been kind to Tim Drake in his comics, so he was talking about several different characters he had lost
they got better tho don't worryover the course of his runs.The false idols is a nod to his friend Conner, who a lot of people ship with him. Kon was Superman's clone, so after he died Tim tried to clone his best friend. It didn't work.
and the clay part is both a nod to Greek mythology and to one of the Wonder Woman origin stories, where she was made out of clayThe searching for an eternity is a nod to when Bruce Wayne died and Tim was the only one who believed he was still alive, and the mantle line is a nod to his canon (and now ex) girlfriend Stephanie, who died when she took over as Robin for a few issues. The hell line is a nod to when his younger brother Damian died and ended up in hell, and the final bit about not accepting his family is just Tim at his finest.
(Fun fact that's just barely related to that: Tim was so desperate to not be adopted by Bruce Wayne that he came up with a fake, nonexistent uncle to adopt him instead when his parents were no longer able to take care of them. This boy has some serious self-esteem issues.)