C. P. CAVAFY
ITHACA
Now as you set out to Ithaca
Do wish your route to be a
long one
Full of adventures, filling
you with knowledge.
Do not fear the
Lestrygonians and the Cyclops
The furious Neptune.
Such things you won’t
encounter as you travel
If you keep your thoughts
high, if an exalted
Frisson guides you, body and
spirit,
The Lestrygonians and the
Cyclops
The angered Neptune you will
never meet.
If in your soul they do not
dwell
If your own soul doesn’t
bring them forward..
And wish yourself a long,
long journey,
May the summer days be many
for you
When with what joy, what
immense pleasure
You will enter harbours you
never saw before
And stop by the Phoenician
merchants’ shops
And buy their precious
merchandise
Mother-of-pearl and coral,
ebony and amber
And all kind of scents
voluptuous.
Do buy as many voluptuous
scents as you can
Visit as many Egyptian
cities as you can
And learn, and learn from
the wise men.
Always carry Ithaca in your
thoughts
That destination should be
your constant goal
But never hasten in your
journey
And when you are old, then
reach your island,
Rich with all you have
gained on your way there
Never expecting Ithaca to
enrich you.
Ithaca gave you the
wonderful journey
Without it you would never
have set out.
Ithaca has to offer nothing
further
And though it may appear so
humble now
Ithaca has not fooled you.
Wise as you have become,
rich in experience
You know well now what
Ithaca stands for.
Translated by Alexis Panselinos.
