Ithaca

When you set sail for Ithaca

wish for the road to be long

full of adventures, full of discovery
                  

Lestrygonians, Cyclops

an angry Poseidon - do not fear

You will never find such on your path

as long as you keep thought raised high

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body
        

Lestrygonians, Cyclops

a savage Poseidon - you won't encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul

unless your spirit sets them up in front of you
         

Hope you road is a long one

May there be many summer mornings when

with what pleasure, what joy

you will enter harbors seen for the first time

Stop at phoenician markets,

and purchase the fine goods

nacre and coral, amber and ebony,

and exquisite perfume of all sorts,

the most delicate fragrances you can find
                    

And may you visit many egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars
         

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.

To arrive there is your final destination.

But do not hurry the voyage at all

Better if it lasts for years,

so you're old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you've gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to offer you wealth.
        

Ithaca has given you the beautiful journey
         

Without her you would not have set out on the road

Nothing more does she have to give you
        

And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you'll have understood, by then, what Ithaca means

Constantino Kavafis - Ithaca - in Alexandria's Quartet