I DREAMED NARCISSUS LOOKED INTO THE SUN (FINAL VERSION)

 

(for mythologist and Greco-Roman scholar, Edith Hamilton

and for the Imagist poet, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)

I dreamed Narcissus looked into the sun

and the sun was blinded;

the stars turning to silver nitrate

the bruised lidded sweetheart overcome

at the deafening, implacable stroke of one

and one alone of infinite self regard 

no one worldwide mirror ever shunned

and no bright shards if it were punctured.

so did the diamond regress to ashen coal

and he had murdered the Age of Gold and caused

the white iris to wither on the stalk;

the soul to spin backwards unraveling the lilied web;

the milkweed galaxies of the dead,

commanding all reflections to stop.

mary angela douglas 23 january 2022;21 march 2023