Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who’s the fairest of them all?
Well, who do you think? It is me,
who stares at my reflection, it is all I can see,
While the world is besmirched, with a heavy sigh,
Dark waters swirl into an eddy. It is I,
And I alone, whose glorious reflection mocks
Those around me, as I knock
It all down the drain.
And now for our (optional) prompt. In her interview, Brim provides us with several suggestions for generative writing exercises, and we’d like to challenge to today to tackle her third one, which is based in the myth of Narcissus. After reading the myth, try writing a poem that plays with the myth in some way. For example, you could imagine that imagine the water is speaking to you, the narcissus flower. Or you could write a poem in which the narcissus berates the Kardashians for stealing their neurosis. Or a poem that comments on the narcissism of our time, i.e. beauty and body obsession, etc.
