I have to admit, the poem “Mrs. Icarus” in Carol Duffy’s “The World’s Wife” made me chuckle to myself. The story of Icarus is one of my favorite Greek myths and I thought that Duffy’s take from Icarus’ wife’s point of view was very clever – and a nice comedic break.

If you were to put the poem in plain conversation words it would probably read: I’m the not the first woman to watch her husband show the what an absolute idiot.

For those who don’t know the story, Icarus was a man who was put into prison with his father and they were told they would only be set free if they could survive the king’s labyrinth that held a minotaur prisoner. In order to escape, Icarus’ father made wings of feather and wax for them to fly out of the window. Icarus’ father warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun or the sea so that the wings wouldn’t fall apart. But, Icarus ignored his father’s warning and flew up towards the sun. The wax on the wings melted and Icarus fell into the ocean and drowned.

Duffy’s poem expresses Icarus’ thoughts on how her husband was a “Grade A pillock.” But my favorite part has to be the first line, “I’m not the first or last.”

Yes, I will admit that women can be idiots sometimes as well, but let’s be honest… men are the bigger idiots, and end up doing the stupid things more often than not.

I think this poem puts a great spin on the feelings that women have towards their husbands when they don’t make the brightest decisions. And sometimes, like Mrs. Icarus, all you can do is watch and shake your head at the stupid mistakes that often lead to the demise of men.

YouTube Funny Fails Compilation by: FunniestClipsTV