Day 21: Narcissus

Challenge 21: “Try writing a poem that plays with the myth of Narcissus in some way.”

Again, thank you for introducing me to an excellent poet. I wish to draw your attention to Antoinette Brim who is responsible for today’s prompt. I find her Walmart Poem especially challenging.

Narcissi

(I’m going to borrow
from one of the greatest
because this is
what they all do
and when you happen
to come upon the original
– song, story idea, film –
you’re all:
“Oh! It’s a steal!”

Not just for this.
Also because this is
the greatest
and truest
Narcissus story.)

The pond
is sad.
Oh how sad the pond is.
And people understand.
Of course,
Narcissus just died.
And the pond
loved him
so much
for every day he came
to admire himself
upon its surface.

Alas, no more.

What they don’t know
is that the reason
why the pond is so sad
is that whenever
Narcissus was lying
on its flank
on its bank,
the pond was able
to look deep into
his eyes
and in the abysses
of his soul
saw its own
flawless
beauty
mirrored.

Alas, no more.

(The funny part?
When googling for
a nice photo of Oscar,
I found this same story
not much modified
ascribed to Paulo Coelho.)

And above is my pond, lake actually, in different seasons, just that I don’t watch myself in it but rather watch it from afar from either of the three parallel roads, and you can also reach it on foot. The strip of land with the tower between the lake and the sea is not freely available but you can visit it with a guide or rent it for parties. Imagine that. What a place for a bloggers’ meeting.

The 2013 and 2014 photos were taken with my first digital camera, a bulky Canon, and since I’ve been using a point-and-Nikon. Some of these surprised me when I had a look at the date.