Vulnerable Narcissist

14 February 2026

https://poems.culturing.net/2026/02/vulnerable-narcissist/

You do fit the pattern of a vulnerable narcissist,
weepy fragility followed by bursts of revenge
when your needs are not met. You should know
that I could not endure that for long.
Is this why you hesitate? Or is the hesitating
part of the plan?

--

Even if this is so, this is not your destiny,
not for certain. It could be a phase of development
needed for reasons you need not explain. I don't know
who you are apart from your art. Maybe
you don't either. I bow to your present condition,
the powers of nature that made you so,
and I know I can't change you, and yet you can change
if these powers keep up their work, and if you
let them guide you to greener pastures.

--

What has been tangled can be untangled.
The web of darkness in the mind
can be brought to light, examined, understood.
But one must feel safe first, and that can prove
difficult, a chicken-and-egg problem, the struggle
of life itself. What more is there to say?
You have given me a gift either way.

--

And yet, I don't know, and would still like to know.
I confess that I find you marvelous, and that
is uncommon for me. But am I just a source of narcissistic supply?
Hard to say. If not, why the delay?

--

I can think of a few reasons,
but I must suspend my judgment
until a more suitable time.