Constantine P. Cavafy Poems

Fear grandeurs, O soul.
And if you cannot overcome
your ambitions, pursue them with hesitation
and caution. And the more you advance,
...

He wrapped them carefully, neatly
in costly green silk.

Roses of ruby, lilies of pearl,
...

Nero was not worried when he heard
the prophecy of the Delphic Oracle.
"Let him fear the seventy three years."
He still had ample time to enjoy himself.
...

The Poseidonians forgot the Greek language
after so many centuries of mingling
with Tyrrhenians, Latins, and other foreigners.
The only thing surviving from their ancestors
...

I love the church: its labara,
its silver vessels, its candleholders,
the lights, the ikons, the pulpit.
...

My work, I'm very careful about it, and I love it.
But today I'm discouraged by how slowly it's going.
The day has affected my mood.
It gets darker and darker. Endless wind and rain.
...

My dear old father,
who always loved me the same;
my dear old father I lament
who died the day before yesterday, just before dawn.
...

What a misfortune, although you are made
for fine and great works
this unjust fate of yours always
denies you encouragement and success;
...

In these dark chambers here what weary days
I spend, walk up and down as in a maze
To find the windows.----Only to unclose
One of these windows will be some relief.---
...

Half past twelve. Time has gone by quickly
since nine o'clock when I lit the lamp
and sat down here. I've been sitting without reading,
without speaking. Completely alone in the house,
...