Abyss

The vain mind

Seeing invisible,

only imperfections

Plagued by doubt,

bewitched by illusion,

in mirrors ,in eyes,

in reflections.

A greater loss of sight,

Unnoticed, unseen.

The distortions ,within ,

of a soul,

from beautiful to ugly,

reminiscent of

lost battles,and

the journey between.

Context and Inspired by

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who had never seen his reflection. The nymph Echo had been punished by Hera for gossiping by being cursed to forever "have the last word". Echo had seen Narcissus walking through the forest and wanted to talk to him, but because of the curse she wasn't able to speak first. When Narcissus became thirsty and stopped to take a drink, he saw his reflection in the water for the first time. Not knowing any better, he fell in love and started talking to it. Echo had been following him and started repeating the last thing he said. Not yet understanding reflections, Narcissus thought his reflection was speaking to him and became more engaged. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away at the pool and changed into the flower that bears his name, the narcissus.

And from the immensely readable…….

The narcissism epidemic: living in the age of entitlement By Jean M. Twenge, W. Keith Campbell

The Drama of the gifted Child by Alice Miller.

I was reading an article about how vanity is not merely a trait but a terminal mental affliction for celebs who shun the outside world as they age because they rather people remember them for their beauty from the heydays. And how it is very nearly fatal...The same goes for the runway models and ballerinas who are obsessed with perfectionism, risking their mental and physical health by pushing them to inhuman limits.