Born broken in body,
with only dimples left of his former beauty,
Narcissio swung his twisted legs from side to side
as he made his way in the humid July night,
looking for the love he'd never find.
In his life before this, he'd been a beautiful man.
Fine of figure with chiselled features.
Appealing to both men and women,
he loved no one.
He was untouched by affection.
Tiresias proclaimed that he'd live a long life
only if he never "came to see himself".
Narcissus fell in love with his own beauty.
The walls of his home were lined in mirrors.
His apparel was superb, his footwear - divine.
He prinked and primped before going out.
He needed only himself for company.
One day, when he was hunting, he heard a sound.
Spinning around, he shouted, "Who's there?"
A sweet voice from the bushes, said, "Who's there?"
An infatuated mountain nymph had been cursed
and could only speak the last words that she heard.
Her name was Echo.
Moving closer, she reached out to hold him.
He rejected her embrace and shouted,
"Keep away! May I die before you enjoy my body!"
Echo was hopelessly in love with Narcissus,
and, tragically, so was he.
Refused by him, she wasted away and died.
Why was Narcissus reborn in a broken body?
Ah, that came after he spurned the love
of his friend Ameinias, to whom he'd given a sword.
It was used in his suicide, due to his rejection.
Narcissus at last felt guilt,
climbed up to the highest tower,
and flung himself down onto the rocks,
destroying his beauty and his life.
It wasn't that his crime was self-love,
it was indifference to others and
his preening self-absorption.
Nemesis punished him for this.
Now, in this life, he is broken and unloved.
Beware hamartia: the tragic flaw.
©Ellen Pepper 2026
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