And I Lounged and Lay on Their Beds

Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)



When I went to that house of pleasure
I didn't stay in the front rooms where they celebrate,
with some decorum, the accepted modes of love.
I went into the secret rooms
and lounged and lay on their beds.
I went into the secret rooms
considered shameful even to name.
But not shameful to me -because if they were,
what kind of poet, what kind of artist would I be?
I'd rather be an ascetic. That would be more in keeping,
much more in keeping with my poetry,
than for me to find pleasure in the commonplace rooms.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme abcDeDfaghgd
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 509
Words 100
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Constantine P. Cavafy

Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant. He published 154 poems; dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poetry was written after his fortieth birthday. more…

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