Longings
Like the beautiful bodies of those who died before they had aged,
sadly shut away in a sumptuous mausoleum,
roses by the head, jasmine at the feet—
so appear the longings that have passed
without being satisfied, not one of them granted
a night of sensual pleasure, or one of its radiant mornings.
Reprinted from C.P. CAVAFY: Collected Poems Revised Edition, translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard, edited by George Savidis. 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
Como cuerpos hermosos de muertos que no envejecieron
y que con llanto sepultaran en espléndido mausoleo,
rosas en su cabeza y jazmines a sus pies;
a esto semejan los deseos que pasaron
sin cumplirse; sin merecer una sola
noche de placer o un luminoso amanecer.
Cavafis, C. (2023). Ciento cincuenta y cuatro poemas (P. Bádenas de la Peña, traducción e introducción). UMA Editorial.
The Canon