Echo loved Narcissus
His beauty drawing and captivating her.
She followed and called out to him
But he spurned her love and ran away.

Deceit and seduction seized Narcissus because
He believed only in himself and
His vocabulary was solely I, me, and mine,
And he chose silence rather than companionship.

When Echo called out to him
He could only answer in first person.
For in a world where others exist
Words have to become plural – We, Us, Our.

Reports say that Narcissus died
Starring into a pool at his own image
Entranced by the dark eyes looking back at him
From the glistening water that was really his ego.

If Narcissus lived today
His pool would be the Internet
And his reflection would be his Facebook account
Electrons rather than water reflecting his image.

Self-consciousness makes the world smaller
So that the Narcissus in each of us
Does not have room for an Echo
Who longs to have a relationship that is real.

Alas, the words that Narcissus used
By necessity pushed Echo away and sent her fleeing
From the emptiness that comes
When words have no room for others.