Desires

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



Like beautiful bodies of the dead, who had not grown old
and they shut them with tears, in a magnificent mausoleum,
with roses at the head and jasmine at the feet --
that is how desires look that have passed
without fultillment; without one of them having achieved
a night of sensual delight, or a moonlit morn.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

17 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEF
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 314
Words 59
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 6

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…

All Constantine P. Cavafy poems | Constantine P. Cavafy Books

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