He Came to Read

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



He came to read. Two or three books
are open; historians and poets.
But he only read for ten minutes,
and gave them up. He is dozing
on the sofa. He is fully devoted to books
but he is twenty-three years old, and he's very handsome;
and this afternoon love passed
through his ideal flesh, his lips.
Through his flesh which is full of beauty
the heat of love passed;
without any silly shame for the form of the enjoyment.....

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

24 sec read
85

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBCADEFGEH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 423
Words 82
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 11

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…

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