Passing Through

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



The things he timidly imagined as a schoolboy
are openly revealed to him now. And he walks the streets,
stays out all night, gets involved. And as is right (for our kind of art)
his blood -fresh and hot
offers itself to pleasure.
His body is overcome
by forbidden erotic ecstasy; and his young limbs
give in to it completely.
 In this way a simple boy
becomes something worth our looking at, for a moment
he too passes through the exalted World of Poetry,
the young sensualist with blood fresh and hot.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

28 sec read
100

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHAIHD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 500
Words 94
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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