Narcissus

 Narcissus

Write a poem that plays with the myth of Narcissus in some way,  or comments on the narcissism of our time - beauty and body obsession.


How foolish of Narcissus
To stare at his reflection so long
He fell in love and pined away.

And yet - count the mirrors in our house
An unbelievable dozen!
One for brushing my hair in the morning,
One (magnifying) for checking my chin for stray hairs
One for brushing my teeth
Two three-quarter length,  one up one down,
For checking my my bum/ tum don't look too awful
One for policing my yoga moves
One for guests (rarely looked in)
Three placed in inaccessible places to reflect the light
One in the kitchen, to fill a space,
One a last quick glance, before leaving the house.

An excess of mirrors could reflect badly on me
(Boom - Boom!)
But I'm no Narcissus.
Look closer at my list,  you'll see
Reflected fragments, eyes, chin, hair, teeth, face
There's precious little vanity in this house,
No full length nudes, no lingering looks.
Just multiple quick checks there's nothing wrong,
No smudges or smears, no tucked in hems,
No mismatched clothes.
They offer judgement
A quick check it's safe for others to see me.



© Copyright 2018. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved. 













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