it was just an accident, but made permanent and eternal by legend
Narcissus spoke to his beloved Echo:
"Darling, you just bore me.
Can't you entertain me any better
than by being just my echo?"
The poor nymph began to cry
since she could not defend herself
and couldn't find a better answer than,
quite awkwardly: "My love, how can I please you
with my poor self since yourself are all perfection
and I can do nothing better than to imitate you
in all your so perfect ways?" Narcissus sighed
and said: "So you are just an imitation.
What a bore you are!" and looked away to find
his mirrored picture in the water
and was amazed by his own beauty
and how actually he was perfection only
and was hypnotized by his own apparition,
being quite unable to release himself
from his own stare. But Echo would not leave him
and observed that her adored lover had been caught
by something in the water. "What has caught your eye?
What are you staring at?" she asked.
"Just look in there," Narcissus said.
"I never saw such beauty in my life."
The nymph saw his predicament and laughed.
"But that is just yourself! It is the mirror of yourself!
Have you not seen yourself before?"
Narcissus answered: "No, I never found myself before."
"Come, come," said Echo. "You just can't get stuck
in admiration of yourself forever.
There are other persons in the world."
"Not as beautiful as this one. You are right.
I am perfection. I don't need you any more
nor any person else, since what I am
transcends all other human beings."
Echo could not quite accept this.
She retorted: "If I may not love you,
and if you no longer can love me,
at least let me then love your picture."
And she dived into the water
just where he was sitting, right into his picture,
which was shattered instantly.
"What are you doing!" cried the young man rising,
"You can't swim!" And he jumped after her to save her.
But the river god was there and waiting for them,
taking his good opportunity, ensnaring them
in weeds and water lilies, pulling them down under,
and it so befell that they both drowned,
she in the picture of her love,
and he in fruitless strain to save his love,
which after all he could not finally deny.
Poetry by Christian Lanciai
Read 421 times
Written on 2006-12-09 at 13:20
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Narcissus - the true story, or, what actually happened
Narcissus spoke to his beloved Echo:
"Darling, you just bore me.
Can't you entertain me any better
than by being just my echo?"
The poor nymph began to cry
since she could not defend herself
and couldn't find a better answer than,
quite awkwardly: "My love, how can I please you
with my poor self since yourself are all perfection
and I can do nothing better than to imitate you
in all your so perfect ways?" Narcissus sighed
and said: "So you are just an imitation.
What a bore you are!" and looked away to find
his mirrored picture in the water
and was amazed by his own beauty
and how actually he was perfection only
and was hypnotized by his own apparition,
being quite unable to release himself
from his own stare. But Echo would not leave him
and observed that her adored lover had been caught
by something in the water. "What has caught your eye?
What are you staring at?" she asked.
"Just look in there," Narcissus said.
"I never saw such beauty in my life."
The nymph saw his predicament and laughed.
"But that is just yourself! It is the mirror of yourself!
Have you not seen yourself before?"
Narcissus answered: "No, I never found myself before."
"Come, come," said Echo. "You just can't get stuck
in admiration of yourself forever.
There are other persons in the world."
"Not as beautiful as this one. You are right.
I am perfection. I don't need you any more
nor any person else, since what I am
transcends all other human beings."
Echo could not quite accept this.
She retorted: "If I may not love you,
and if you no longer can love me,
at least let me then love your picture."
And she dived into the water
just where he was sitting, right into his picture,
which was shattered instantly.
"What are you doing!" cried the young man rising,
"You can't swim!" And he jumped after her to save her.
But the river god was there and waiting for them,
taking his good opportunity, ensnaring them
in weeds and water lilies, pulling them down under,
and it so befell that they both drowned,
she in the picture of her love,
and he in fruitless strain to save his love,
which after all he could not finally deny.
Poetry by Christian Lanciai
Read 421 times
Written on 2006-12-09 at 13:20
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
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