PAD Day 21: A Modern Narcissus

Today's dual prompts from Poetic Asides and NaPoWriMo: (1) write a "danger" poem, and (2) write a poem based on the myth of Narcissus. Well, those two prompts put together practically scream out a suggestion, don't they? But first, here's a poem, coincidentally about Narcissus, that I wrote during the April 2012 PAD challenge:

Narcissus

I chased the frightened deer into my net,
while Echo, longing, watched me from the glade.
When she professed her love, I laughed: “Forget
this foolish crush – your girlish looks will fade
while mine will burn as bright Apollo’s wheel!”
I broke her heart, she wasted to a shade;
her voice is all that’s left, a plaintive peal.
When Nemesis caught wind of this, she made
me find my own reflection in a pool.
I thought, “My, what perfection!” and I fell
in love with this young man – oh, what a fool –
and frozen there, I’d waste away as well.
Cruel judgment? Well, perhaps, but here’s the thing:
my name means yellow flowers every spring.

And here is today's poem:

Narcissus 2018

The road behind you is littered

with broken hearts,

because you could never love anyone

as much as yourself.

The valley echoes, too,

with the sobs of forlorn lovers

and the curses of those you scorned.

They will ring in your ears,

no matter how much you paid

to silence them.

You are the epitome, in your own head -

nobody is better, richer, smarter,

and there are too many who agree.

Instead of a reflecting pool,

you admire yourself on TV.

You think you are building a golden castle,

but you're only tearing down a white house.

We hope you don't look too far up the road,

or you may see the trap your nemeses

have set for you - a beauty contest

in a hall of mirrors.