Trojan Decoy
(An Armada of Angst and Misfiring Mirrors)
By Bocephus Jackson, The Hemlock Bard, ©2026 Bocephus Jackson. All Rights Reserved
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“There is a kind of release in knowing that what you have loved is a counterfeit.” — Joan Didion, The White Album
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She thinks of herself as Helen of Troy,
Capable of launching a thousand sails,
But beauty as a weapon is a toy,
Stolen by each season’s splintering gales,
Decorum demands that it be destroyed,
To find grace in a Hellenistic hell,
So ships aren’t sunk in herTrojan decoy,
That led to cosmetic kingdoms that fell.
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“No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.” — Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist
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Author’s Reflection
“Beauty is a short-lived tyranny.” — Socrates
This short piece is for every LinkedIn Leviathan, Twitter Thot, MeetMe Mirage, InstaScammer, Google Chat Gorgon, Thread Head, Snapchat Crack, and TikTok Block.
Also, the Facebook Overlooks, Tinder Benders, Reddit Forget-Its, Substack Flapjack, Tumblr Fumblr, and Medium Medusa, whose truth is only skin deep.
As ‘Filtered Frankensteins’ that weaponize the ‘Halo Effect,’ those misperceptions lead to the ‘Quasimodo Effect,’ where the underlying hunchbacked monster is ultimately revealed.
Just know empires built on shifting sands eventually fall. So why not take stock in what makes you inherently beautiful? It’s worth investing in when others shortchange your worth.
Lastly, if hubris is your Achilles heel, stay away from the sun, Interface Icarus. It’ll save you from having to hard-sell cosmetics…
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“Do not adorn yourselves outwardly… rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.” — 1 Peter 3:3–4
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©2026 Bocephus Jackson. All Rights Reserved
