A Questioning of the Myth of Narcissus

Narcissus

Tall and handsome

Dreamy eyes and soft hair

Kind features, complexion fair

He was beautiful

             And he knew it.

But what's wrong with that?

Was it really worth

Condemning Narcissus

To a lifetime of

Sorrow

Because he loved himself?

Echo had approached him-

Admired his beauty.

She was rejected,

And he was scorned

            For rejecting her.

How is that fair?

Forever doomed to stare at himself

In the reflection of a clear lake.

The gods could have

Warned him

             Better yet,

Taught him

To appreciate others.

But in this world,

There are no second chances.

What kind of world is that?

A world in which the confident are punished?

In which one mistake is the end?

He loved himself,

But Greek and Roman myths have viewed it as

Ego

Overconfidence

            Narcissism

Where confidence is

Borderline insolence.

How many times

Has someone been considered

Stuck up

Vain

Conceited

When they are trying to learn

To love who they are?

Narcissus

Has been a model

Of what not to do

Throughout history.

Instead,

Let us teach

The Echoes

Of the world

That they don't need the

Approval

Of others

To be

Valid.