I Dreamed Narcissus Looked Into The Sun (Final Version) Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

(for mythologist and Greco-Roman scholar, Edith Hamilton

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