Narcissism

Narcissism comes

at the wrong time in life,

comes when your young body

is easy to love,

your stomach muscles virtuous,

when water beads up

not down into crannies,

when the “turn of your ankle”

doesn’t mean a limp.

But it would be better stored

for the day your aging body

desperately needs someone

to stroke its folds, roll fingers

around its plenitudes,

protuberances,

to look in the mirror

and say,

               “You’re lookin’ good, baby.”

©2020 Muriel Thumm