Ovid | METAMORPHOSES “As he triedTo quench his thirst, inside him, deep within him,Another thirst was growing, for he sawAn image in the pool, and fell in loveWith that unbodied hope, and found a substanceIn what was only shadow. He looks in wonder,Charmed by himself, spell-bound, and no more movingThan any marble statue.He sees his eyes, twin stars, and locks as comelyAs those of Bacchus or the god Apollo,Smooth cheeks, and ivory neck, and the bright beautyOf countenance, and a flush of color risingIn the fair whiteness. Everything attracts himThat makes him so attractive. Foolish boy,He wants himself; the love becomes the lover,The seeker sought, the kindler burns. How oftenHe tries to kiss the image in the waterDips in his arms to embrace the boy he sees there,And finds the boy, himself, elusive always,Not knowing what he sees, but burning for it,The same delusion mocking his eyes and teasing.Why try to catch an always fleeting imagePoor credulous youngster? What you seek is nowhereAnd if you turn away, you will take with youThe boy you love. The vision is only shadow,Only reflection, lacking any substance.It comes with you, it stays with you, it goesAway with you, if you can go away.” — Ovid | METAMORPHOSES glamour, mythology, recursionNatasha JoukovskySeptember 11, 2016mimesis, Ovid, Metamorphoses, metamorphosis, Narcissus, art, simulacra, 1Comment
Ovid | METAMORPHOSES “My intention is to tell of bodies changedTo different forms; the gods; who made the changes,Will help me—or I hope so—with a poemThat runs from the world’s beginning to our own days.” — Ovid | METAMORPHOSES mythologyNatasha JoukovskySeptember 11, 2016metamorphosis, Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1Comment