#cavafy

[aaknopf]

[metamorphesque]

Body, remember by C. P. Cavafy (translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard)

[ontologicalevil]

[pastellus]

When they saw Patroclus lying dead who was once so brave, so strong and young, the horses of Achilles began to weep; their immortal nature stood aghast at that masterwork of death. They reared their heads and shook their manes, they stamped the ground with their hooves and mourned for Patroclus, lifeless, destroyed, mere flesh and bone, defenceless now, his spirit gone, a castaway from life, now naught. Zeus saw the tears of the immortal steeds and grieved, saying, ‘It was my mistake, it was my thoughtlessness at Peleus’ wedding. We should never have given you as a gift, poor horses! What business did you have among wretched humankind, plaything of destiny, you whom neither death nor the sorrows of old age torment. Men have tangled you in their own miseries.’ Yet the two noble horses continued to pour out their tears for the eternal misfortune of death.

Constantine P. Cavafy, The Horses of Achilles (Translated by Avi Sharon)

[yorgunherakles]

claude monet - by the sea

[hyperions-fate]

C.P. Cavafy, 'To Call Up the Shades' (Trans. Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard)

[largebadpicture]

Cavafy, “The God abandons Antony”

[lotrmusical]

today's poem that feels like being hit with hammers is hidden things by c p cavafy (the edmund keeley/philip sherrard translation):

From all I did and all I said let no one try to find out who I was. An obstacle was there that changed the pattern of my actions and the manner of my life. An obstacle was often there to stop me when I’d begin to speak. From my most unnoticed actions, my most veiled writing— from these alone will I be understood. But maybe it isn’t worth so much concern, so much effort to discover who I really am. Later, in a more perfect society, someone else made just like me is certain to appear and act freely.