Their Beginning

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



Their illicit pleasure has been fulfilled.
They get up and dress quickly, without a word.
They come out of the house separately, furtively;
and as they move off down the street a bit unsettled,
it seems they sense that something about them betrays
what kind of bed they've just been lying on.
But what profit for the life of the artist:
tomorrow, the day after, or years later, he'll give voice
to the strong lines that had their beginning here.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
122

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHI
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 453
Words 82
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 9

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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