Prayer

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



A sailor drowned in the sea's depths
Unaware, his mother goes and lights

a tall candle before the ikon of our Lady
praying that he'll come back quickly, that the weather may be good

her ear cocked always to the wind.
While she prays and supplicates,

the ikon listens, solemn, sad,
knowing the son she waits for never will come back.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

19 sec read
105

Quick analysis:

Scheme AX XX XA XX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 334
Words 63
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2

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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    "Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/7218/prayer>.

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