like Icraus who with his wings of wax
soared in the sky like a bird,
but who flew to close to the sun
where his wings melted and to the sea fell.
Other men came and other men tried,
in failure their names in time hide,
but soon the missing element was found,
the element, which could get them off the ground.
An Albatross of plastic wings
soars through the early morning sky
across a channel of salty waves
of which it glides just above.
From Eagle and Dragonfly,
man now has the ability to fly.
Author’s Note:
The above poem was written as a tribute to the men of the Gossamer Albatross who crossed the English Channel on the 12th June 1979.
13 June 1979