Of Coloured Glass

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



I am very moved by one detail
in the coronation at Vlachernai of John Kantakuzinos
and Irini, daughter of Andronikos Asan.
Because they had only a few precious stones
(our afflicted empire was extremely poor)
they wore artificial ones: numerous pieces of glass,
red, green, or blue. I find
nothing humiliating or undignified
in those little pieces of colored glass.
On the contrary, they seem
a sad protest against
the unjust misfortune of the couple being crowned,
symbols of what they deserved to have,
of what surely it was right that they should have
at their coronation—a Lord John Kantakuzinos,
a Lady Irini, daughter of Andronikos Asan.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
75

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDBEFBGHIJJBC
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 638
Words 109
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

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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