Teenage Romance with Myself

We live long if we never know ourselves

Such are the words of Teiresias

For years I had thought to know myself

And which route would be easiest.

But I hadn’t known my true self then

I hadn’t seen it before now:

A nymph with chocolate hair and sunset eyes,

She asks me “who is there” when popularity is in disguise.

Radiant smiles and dancing queens,

Prom kings and football teams

You’re a life worth living but—

Always in dreams

For I thought you were an Echo,

A ghost of mine, it seems.

A thin veil of water

So beautiful and pure

Leaning down to look in

Haven’t I been here before?

With you, and you, and her and him--

Hello old friend, she’s gone again

Even though I’m the one that I should adore,

But self-love isn’t easy when media’s hard to ignore.

I can’t help but notice Aphrodite has turned me into a flower.