The boy on the cereal packet
was holding a cereal packet
which showed a smaller boy
holding a small cereal packet
showing a smaller boy
who... smaller and smaller
they receded while this boy
at the breakfast table
pondered his first
intuition of infinity.
Now I find it has a name -
the Droste effect* -
or 'mise en abyme' -
infinite recession,
or, in maths, 'recursion'.
No one but me
at the breakfast table
showed the least concern.
Also when the two mirrors
in the bathroom were lined up
this curious child saw
himself from behind
and another reflected
beyond, and another -
till he lost count.
Narcissistic pleasure
competed with dizziness
till the child recoiled,
withdrew into singleness.
Max Richards
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droste_effect
...Droste cocoa powder, one of the main Dutch brands, which displayed a
nurse carrying a serving tray with a cup of hot chocolate and a box with the
same image.[2] This image, introduced in 1904 and maintained for decades
with slight variations, became a household notion.
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