King Dimitrios

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



When the Macedonians deserted him
and showed they preferred Pyrrhos,
King Dimitrios (a noble soul) didn't behave
-so they said-
at all like a king.
He took off his golden robes,
threw away his purple buskins,
and quickly dressing himself
in simple clothes, he slipped out-
just like an actor who,
the play over,
changes his costume and goes away.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

18 sec read
134

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEBBFGHIJ
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 343
Words 62
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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