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Michael Dirda

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Above all don't fool yourself, don't say it was

a dream, how your ears tricked you.

Don't stoop to such empty hopes.

As if long prepared, as if full of courage,

as is right for you who are worthy of such a city,

go stand tall by the window

and listen with feeling, but not

with the pleas and whining of a coward,

hear the voices -- your last pleasure --

the exquisite instruments of that secret troupe,

and say good-bye to her, the Alexandria you are losing.

What makes Cavafy (1863-1933) so distinctive, so memorable a poet is what W.H. Auden called his "tone of voice." To some, he may sound merely decadent, a celebrant of furtive homosexual encounters or a nostalgist for the Hellenistic culture of the Asian shore, but to the sympathetic his voice is knowing, accepting, kindly, with the wisdom of the retired epicurean. In "Ithaka," the Odysseus-like reader is urged to enjoy life's journey to the fullest, to "wish that the way be long" and that reaching home should come only after one has accumulated much knowledge, experience and treasure.

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