FASHION Poem: Narcissus: Behind the Myth, by Dana Stamps, II

Fixated on a shallow enchanted pool,
he said: I’m looking
great, so fit, so heroic! Confident
in his sexual prowess, he soon pursued figure
modeling in Athens,
posing for statues, urns and such.
Something striking

about his looks, and being quite tall,
were among his
unearned
advantages to be showcased—especially, he
could be the perfect
“boy next door,” a real Spartan
if clean shaven.

He dated supermodel He
len of Troy,
met her on the red cobble
escorted by Paris.
Fashionista Aphrodite was there with Hercules,
and bad boy
Narcissus reflected upon …
a new seduction.

Persephone was hot, too, spending
her winters in Hades.
Hubris, you say? Narcissus
soon dumped looker Helen flat—too proud
to yield to any lover
(for long). Although many desired
him, he felt none

were worthy. A nonchalant bachelor,
he rejected marriage.
To wither and die, he reflected, lay on a path
to vows. He could see
the enchanted
pool glisten in the eyes of new lovers,
shallow as ever.