The Pandemic Games of 2020

Summary

The content reflects on the insatiable need for attention among narcissists, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which they envy and compete against for the limelight.

Abstract

"The Pandemic Games of 2020" is a docu-poem that scrutinizes the narcissistic craving for attention, comparing it to a desert wanderer's thirst for water. The pandemic, a global event beyond personal control, is envied by narcissists for its dominance and power. They attempt to undermine it by trivializing its threat through personal actions, like refusing to wear masks, in a bid to maintain their own visibility. The poem suggests that narcissists construct a reality that serves their need for attention, blaming others without accountability. It portrays them as soulless entities, akin to post-apocalyptic terrors, now finding competition in the pandemic for the spotlight. The narcissist's game is raised in the face of this global killer, without an ounce of shame.

Opinions

The author views narcissists as having an unquenchable thirst for attention, which is never satisfied.
Narcissists are depicted as envious of the pandemic's ability to dominate the global stage.
The poem criticizes narcissists for their refusal to acknowledge the severity of the pandemic and for putting their families at risk by not wearing masks.
There is a sense of wonder about the authenticity of the narcissist's persona, questioning which face is real.
The author describes narcissists as constructing a reality to manipulate and feed on the vulnerability of others.
Narcissists are portrayed as lacking complexity, driven solely by the desire to consume attention, now competing with the pandemic for this resource.
The poem conveys a disdain for the narcissist's lack of shame in seeking attention, even in the face of a global crisis.

The Pandemic Games of 2020

Narcissists Compete For The Limelight — A DocuPoem

Illustration by Aaron Blanco Tejedor from Unsplash

You voraciously inhale attention as the desert wanderer consumes liquid when found, with an unquenchable thirst. It’s truly never enough, there can never be enough focus for you. Your unfathomable need defies quantity. I could speak of the depths of the great oceans or the incomprehensible magnitude of the universe but their poetic beauty belies the malignant malady of your soul…you deserve no poetry and yet here we are.

This pandemic has you in a toddler-tantrum; feet thumping, body flaying on the floor…it’s bigger than you, it dominates the globe and you envy it. You envy a pandemic. I see you toiling so hard to deny its’ power and defuse it; mates in your home, beach trips, the pub. Refusing this faceless killer a moment in history. Refusing to be made faceless by the simpering mask of protection, thus denying protection to your cowering family. Raging, rabid against the pandemic limelight.

And, as you construct my Visage of Villainy with such dexterous skill, I often wonder which face is real. For twenty years, when the sea is the sky, one begins to question the true nature of life. This you adore, this, your El Dorado. The construction of a self-made reality to induce drip-fed insanity with the cruelest of complexity perfectly timed to milk vulnerability. Blame tattooed to my soul without a quark of accountability.

The soulless shell of the narcissist is terror personified, the face of post-apocalyptic reality. Shark eyes, nothing behind, dead and unfeeling, just focussed on feeding. Then, a flash of fury, as it chokes on our healing. Not a complex ‘being’, embodying one simple goal; the frenzied consumption of a soul. It now has competition in Covid-19. Be warned, it’s raising its game, self-deemed so important, it sports with this global killer with not one ounce of shame.