Icarus Dædalus Doc
Of all the tragic things that can happen to human beings, the death of one’s child must be near the top of the list. How much more tragic, then, when your child dies through misuse of a device that you yourself designed?
When I started this page it was with a tone of mockery, exemplified by the triple acrostic Icarus Dædalus Doc. The similarity to Hickory Dickory Doc will not escape readers who were told Mother Goose nursery rhymes as little children. But that substrate demanded content beyond mockery, the poem virtually wrote itself, and the illustration–executed after looking at classical images of this famous father and son–demanded the heart of the tragedy: the father watches, helplessly far away, as his child plummets to a certain doom. The child is still alive but his remaining life on Earth will not last the sweep of a second hand around a clock face. So do we all–parents, friends, lovers–so often watch as tragedy unfolds, wanting to turn back time or otherwise alter reality, but powerless; helpless.
It is the truest exemplar of what people think of as “Greek tragedy.” There is also a moral: Today may well be the day a future tragedy might be averted.
So–how are your loved ones doing? What might you do to help them, this very minute?
One with Clay, Image and Text 
You came up with that title, “Icarus Dædalus Doc”. I’m impressed.
I also like the rhythm and movement in the top of the piece.
Thanks, Donald. I’m happy if I’ve entertained, more happy if I’ve enlightened, and ecstatic if I’ve impressed–especially if the impress-ario is a keenly intelligent person. Makes my day!
Every version on the Icarus tale I’ve come across dwells on the hubris of the son and the reasonableness of the father. This is the fist time I hear from the point of view of the father and of his loss. I like it.
This brings to mind a SF tale by Spider Robinson, in which a father had to assume responsibility for the dead of a child in a car accident: he’d changed the brake pads himself to save a few bucks, and they failed… (shudder)
Took me a few goes to figure out the drawing; I kept seeing a strange kind of convoluted orange giant ball of string in the middle of the picture 😉 eventually it resolved into Daedalus’ head and then it all made sense. Now I see a dad’s attempt to catch his falling son, but he’s out or reach. Very effective.
ML
Thank you, Michel. If I ever do a remake of this page (and I think most of my pages are in some need of remake; “A work of art is never finished–it is only abandoned…”) I will be much more careful with the clarity. I appreciate you taking the time to make sense of the image, my friend!