He Had Come There to Read
He had come there to read. Two or three books lie open,
books by historians, by poets.
But he read for barely ten minutes,
then gave it up, falling half asleep on the sofa.
He’s completely devoted to books—
but he’s twenty-three, and very good-looking;
and this afternoon Eros entered
his ideal flesh, his lips.
An erotic warmth entered
his completely lovely flesh—
with no ridiculous shame about the form the pleasure took....
Reprinted from C. P. CAVAFY: Collected Poems Revised Edition, translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard, edited by George Savvidis. Translation copyright © 1975, 1992 by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Princeton University Press. For reuse of these translations, please contact Princeton University Press.
Translations in other languages
Vino a leer. Dos o tres libros
hay abiertos; de historia y poesía.
Mas apenas leyó diez minutos
y los dejó. Dormitando está
en el canapé. Pertenece a los libros por entero;
pero tiene veintitrés años y es muy hermoso;
y hoy, por la tarde, ha pasado el amor
por su carne maravillosa, por sus labios.
Por su carne, que es todo hermosura
por él ha pasado el ardor voluptuoso;
sin ridículo pudor por la forma del placer…
Cavafis, C. (2023). Ciento cincuenta y cuatro poemas (P. Bádenas de la Peña, traducción e introducción). UMA Editorial.
The Canon