On The Stairs

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



As I was going down those ill-famed stairs
you were coming through the door, and for a second
I saw your unfamiliar face and you saw mine.
Then I hid so you wouldn't see me again,
and you hurried past me, hiding your face,
and slipped inside the ill-famed house
where you couldn't have found pleasure any more than I did.
And yet the love you were looking for, I had to give you;
the love I was looking for -so your tired, knowing eyes
implied
you had to give me.
Our bodies sensed and sought each other:
our blood and skin understood.
But we both hid ourselves, flustered.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

33 sec read
181

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 569
Words 111
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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…

All Constantine P. Cavafy poems | Constantine P. Cavafy Books

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