What a misfortune, although you are made
for fine and great works
this unjust fate of yours always
denies you encouragement and success;
that base customs should block you;
and pettiness and indifference.
And how terrible the day when you yield
(the day when you give up and yield),
and you leave on foot for Susa,
and you go to the monarch Artaxerxes
who favorably places you in his court,
and offers you satrapies and the like.
And you accept them with despair
these things that you do not want.
Your soul seeks other things, weeps for other things;
the praise of the public and the Sophists,
the hard-won and inestimable Well Done;
the Agora, the Theater, and the Laurels.
How can Artaxerxes give you these,
where will you find these in a satrapy;
and what life can you live without these.
(By Constantine Cavafy)
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Author:
lysistrata (
Offline) - Published: June 14th, 2016 08:23
- Comment from author about the poem: I thought to post this poem for 24hours or so,since I recently visited a Street Art Festival, where I spotted among some very interesting graffiti and this one with the Great Poet,Constantine Cavafy, and next to him writing "your soul seeks other things, weeps for other things"( from "The Satrapy"). More poems and info about Cavafy,you could find in the Poets Section.....
- Category: Special occasion
- Views: 29
Offline)
Comments3
Thanks for sharing LYSI ! To some extent it reads like a bad month in my past. Yours BRIAN
For you, oh abundant Lysistrata, I have registered in a graduate course
of classic Greek art, Mythology, and Poetry. See you in 5 years! Hug.
Bert
Really Bert?
Tell me lies,
Tell me sweet little lies,
Tell me,Tell me LIES......😉
Perhaps alternating the word "and" with anything but that word.
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