Ithaka BY C. P. CAVAFY TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY As
you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of
adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry
Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that
on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long
as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops, wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets
them up in front of you. Hope your road is a long one. May
there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time; may you stop at
Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl
and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind— as many
sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars. Keep Ithaka
always in your mind. Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all
you’ve gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you wouldn't have
set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you
find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have
become, so full of experience, you’ll have understood by then what
these Ithakas mean.
Constantine Cavafy was born in 1863
in Alexandria, Egypt, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. A
citizen of Greece, he lived in many places. Cavafy wrote: “I am from
Constantinople by descent, but I was born in Alexandria… I left very
young, and spent much of my childhood in England…. I have also lived in
France. During my adolescence I lived over two years in Constantinople.
It has been many years since I last visited Greece.” Cavafy always had a
day job; he worked as a journalist, and then in the Egyptian Ministry of
Public Works for 30 years. He took an unusual approach to the
publication of his poems. He never published a collection. Instead, his
work appeared in magazines, or on self-published broadsides which he
distributed to his friends. He was a perfectionist, and left only about
150 finished poems, along with hundreds of drafts, abandoned poems, and
fragments. E. M. Forster, who was a friend of Cavafy, described him as
"a Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a
slight angle to the universe." T. S. Eliot was another early reader of
Cavafy’s work. It was not until after Cavafy’s death in 1933 that the
first collection of his work appeared and his work really began to be
recognized. This poem, “Ithaka,” was written in 1911. It is
typical of Cavafy in the way it is rooted in ancient Greek history and
literature, and quite contemporary at the same time. The poem builds on
the familiar story of Odysseus, who had gone to fight in the Trojan War
(as described in Homer’s Iliad) and then had many adventures on the way
home—the story told in Homer’s Odyssey. Cavafy’s poem is full
of details from the epic. Ithaka is the island that Odysseus is trying
to get home to, and the Laistrygonians, Cyclops, and Poseidon are some
of the dangers he encounters along the way. But Cavafy’s poem
is not an update of Homer’s epic, nor is it really about Odysseus at
all. Cavafy uses the story to reflect on journeys and destinations. We
know that the journey is what matters most: “hope your road is a long
one.” He lyrically describes the joy of discovery: “May there be many
summer mornings when… you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first
time.” Cavafy reminds us that we human beings are both body and soul,
and there are experiences for both on this journey. We can sample the
“perfumes” of Phoenicia, and we can “learn and go on learning” from
Egyptian scholars. As for the monsters Odysseus encounters—the
Laistrygonians, the Cyclops, and “wild Poseidon”—on this journey, the
dangers come from within. “you won’t encounter them / Unless you bring
them along inside your soul.” But the destination is important,
too. “Keep Ithaka always in your mind.” What is Ithaka for Odysseus? It
is not just his destination; it is home, family, responsibility. It’s
his own place and purpose. “Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.”
Without Ithaka, Odysseus is just a wanderer. Of course, there are
problems back in Ithaka. “If you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled
you. / Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, / you’ll
have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.” Cavafy’s poem
is sometimes read at graduations, and you can see why: it’s a wonderful
invitation to explore the world and to keep on learning. But there’s
more to it. Paradoxically, perhaps, this poem about journeys is also
about staying grounded. “Ithaka” speaks of the importance of staying
connected with our roots, our home and traditions, which give shape to
our journey, no matter how long that journey may be, or how far from
home it may take us. Have a great summer!
|