dreams of a vagrant gypsy

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Translated by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard

(C.P. Cavafy, Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Edited by George Savidis. Revised Edition. Princeton University Press, 1992)

Ithaca — C.P. Cavafy

Martin Buber (via liquidnight)

(via thejourneysthedestination)

1. singingovertheboness liked this
2. aquariage reblogged this from parkstepp
3. the-art-of-choking-hearts reblogged this from elige
4. gypsygiss reblogged this from observedintoexistence
5. spawnofskatin reblogged this from lotus-in-the-sun
6. lotus-in-the-sun liked this
7. lotus-in-the-sun reblogged this from positivemanifestations
8. ohmygahdsame reblogged this from swirling-moonlit-fair
9. positivemanifestations liked this
10. positivemanifestations reblogged this from observedintoexistence
11. dakinigoddess reblogged this from observedintoexistence
12. notchemicallyinert liked this
13. swirling-moonlit-fair reblogged this from the-fire-in-your-soul
14. the-fire-in-your-soul reblogged this from wanderer-of-thoughts
15. daytrippper liked this
16. grossmagic liked this
17. wanderer-of-thoughts reblogged this from observedintoexistence
18. observedintoexistence liked this
19. observedintoexistence reblogged this from fiendingforeverything
20. jaciebrd reblogged this from fiendingforeverything
21. fiendingforeverything reblogged this from elige
22. rockngill reblogged this from solconfessionals
23. janninuhhh reblogged this from surrounded-by-my-imagination
24. solconfessionals reblogged this from naturesfreak
25. emelectrified reblogged this from venus-sc
26. baby-platypus reblogged this from a-cidpixie
27. quoteum reblogged this from frenchtwist
28. ashley-yo reblogged this from palefacearielle
29. ourfairytaleworld liked this
30. letsrulethew0rld reblogged this from palefacearielle
31. 1-derlust reblogged this from naturesfreak
32. 1-derlust liked this
33. adventuresneverstop reblogged this from naturesfreak
34. palefacearielle reblogged this from naturesfreak
35. naturesfreak reblogged this from goddessofchange
36. laury-luxury reblogged this from elige
37. dontrustlemyjimmies liked this
38. anodetothesea liked this
39. watercolordelirium liked this
40. surrounded-by-my-imagination reblogged this from pyrrhic-victoria
41. soibeanxgalactica liked this
42. nightlightsaver liked this
43. thelittlefox reblogged this from bookspaperscissors
44. ituccio liked this
45. a-cidpixie reblogged this from sol-psych
46. whispsofinvisibleme reblogged this from venus-sc
47. meltedthoughts reblogged this from liquidnight
48. rosslikethestore reblogged this from elige
49. youcancloseyoureyess reblogged this from saltstainedwindows
50. princess-chameleon reblogged this from dazedmermaid
51. Show more notesLoading...