The Fall Of Icarus

"In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on." (W.H. Auden)

In Auden's poem "Musee des Beaux Arts" he talks about suffering and tragedy and how it takes place while someone else is going about their daily routines. Yesterday I sat in a waiting room for 3 hours waiting to get winter tires on my truck. Meanwhile south of the border a tragic event was unfolding; a 20 year old entered an elementary school killing at least 20 children and 6 adults.

I wonder if we are destined to be the farmer in Breughel's painting, sure we heard the splash and the forsaken cry of yesterday's events but for us "it was not an important failure..." the sun continued to shine and set only to shine again today. Or will we be like the expensive delicate ships, briefly amazed but simply had somewhere else to be and calmly sailed on.