Things Ended

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



Engulfed by fear and suspicion,
mind agitated, eyes alarmed,
we try desperately to invent ways out,
plan how to avoid
the obvious danger that threatens us so terribly.
Yet we're mistaken, that's not the danger ahead:
the news was wrong
(or we didn't hear it, or didn't get it right).
Another disaster, one we never imagined,
suddenly, violently, descends upon us,
and finding us unprepared -there's no time now
sweeps us away.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

23 sec read
143

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKL
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 423
Words 74
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

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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