Photo taken in Rheinstein Castle, Germany
Story & Background
Never in my life would I have guessed that I would one day appreciate the classic German fairy tale, “Rapunzel.” I mean, the idea of a main character stuck as a prisoner with zero autonomy is the last thing that would appeal to my younger self.
But I could hardly ignore all the hype around the Disney version, which expanded the narrative in a wholesome way while keeping its original themes of love, freedom, and resilience. In the film, Mother Gothel convinces Rapunzel to stay by her side while secretly absorbing the magical powers of Rapunzel’s long golden hair to maintain her youthful appearance.
While watching, another tale came to mind, but this time a much older one that dates back thousands of years. According to Greek mythology, Narcissus fell into a similar trap by getting swept away by his own reflection.
Just like the witch, he quickly develops an unhealthy obsession, which leads to his death beside the water, unable to tear himself away and save his sanity. In light of this self-centered behavior in both stories, it’s easy to conclude that such a vice stems from extreme love for oneself.
At first, this seems clear enough, considering an individual’s fixation on the personal image they share with the world. It wasn’t until I reached a much later age that I became more familiar with the contradictory nature of this character flaw—between how one presents and what’s actually happening behind the facade.
It goes without saying that this outward display of arrogance and vanity is actually a cover-up for deep-seated feelings of self-loathing. At the very core of this grandiose demeanor lies a lack of genuine self-love.
Self-concepts are confusing, especially when we fail to notice the dangerous disconnect between what the mirror on the wall shows us and who we truly are. This is why I wrote this poem as a reminder of what always remains undeniably real, the kind of ever after worth looking for that no reflection could even begin to capture.
Tangled
Rapunzel, Rapunzel
Let down your hair
They enter a puzzle
Where all is fair
In love and in war so
The dance begins
Atop a high tower
One always wins
But how such a story
Should come to be?
What acts of deception
Must fail to see
Is it ignorance or
Stupidity?
Loss of intellect or
Ability?
For how might one stay and
Choose to linger?
Likely pick will always
Tip the finger
Cautionary tales of
Conscience and crime
Few can take heed of once
Upon a time
Beginnings not unlike
Many know well
When captivated bliss
Rings like a bell
Conditions a bond
Of intensity
As constant flux lures
Twirls like destiny
Tension it strengthens to
Aim at the core
Past hauntings emerge whilst
Body keeps score
First bombing replaced as
Sly gas is lit
A turning of tides prompts
Questioning wit
And the world falls silent
The ground is ripe
Fear feeds the shame in mind
Altering wipe
Yet still we must ask what
Makes one remain?
Why bother to be when
No clues cue sane?
What if I said there’s more
To the fable?
A moral awaits, when
One is able
To look past a theme of
Hero and fiend
To unpack the truth of
Layers glared glean
For before one treads this
Infamous fall
One is found begging a
Glass on the wall
Staring imprisoned at
Panes reflection
This little one masking
Steel deflection
Longs desperate space beyond
Thoughts intrusion
Twisting and writhing in
Dread’s delusion
Onlookers might ask who
Needs to be saved?
The one that resists or
One that has caved?
For who wins or loses
In such awry?
What matters amid what
Fate can’t deny?
The lie that’s inverted
The crux unveiled
Absence of value no
Longer concealed
This void declines to fill
Out of blindness
Ceases to bear in lack
Of self-kindness
Hopeless addiction to
Forceful magnet
Pain which it sharpens with
Manmade fragment
Mistaking the thorn for
All one’s being
Protecting the myth and
Cure’s undoing
Thus here lies the price of
Wired empathy
Of seeking more than chance
May choose to see
But perhaps there’s more to
This tangled mix
Between one to control,
And one to fix
For even as zapped as
One’s energy
Who would have found purpose
To entropy
Who might have guessed even
Softness and strength
Could fuse as lines spur and
Blaze to new length
So even as voice shrinks
To muffled sound
Something hones gently far
Past the foreground
A piece landing softly
To mark the way
Stands in to inform while
Paving new day
Complete curves the puzzle
Brings one to know
Time’s run itself out in
Ultimate blow
As two come to see like
Never before
Thwarted spell broken now
Meant to restore
What lessons we take to
Act from the heart
To part in best terms and
Make a new start
Love sets free; it allows
Tending all gray
And sometimes its gift lets
Us walk away
The greatest last end that
Fits like a glove
A final embrace and
Act of true love
Where healing begins with
Honest accord
When courage empowers
To drop the sword
Its key for unlocking
Through any door
Adventure awaiting
You evermore
