ITHACA<br/>Itaca

23 January, 2009

ITHACA
Itaca

Si vas a emprender el viaje hacia Ítaca, pide que tu camino sea largo,
rico en experiencias, en conocimiento.

A Lestrigones y a Cíclopes,
o al airado Poseidón nunca temas,
no hallarás tales seres en tu ruta
si alto es tu pensamiento y limpia la emoción de tu espíritu y tu cuerpo.

A Lestrigones ni a Cíclopes,
ni al fiero Poseidón hallarás nunca,
si no los llevas dentro de tu alma,
si no es tu alma quien ante ti los pone.

Pide que tu camino sea largo.
Que numerosas sean las mañanas de verano en que con placer,
felizmente arribes a bahías nunca vistas.

Detente en los emporios de Fenicia
y adquiere hermosas mercancías,
madreperla y coral, y ámbar, y ébano, perfumes deliciosos y diversos, cuando puedas invierte en voluptuosos y delicados perfumes;
visita muchas ciudades de Egipto
y con avidez aprende de sus sabios.

Ten siempre a Ítaca en la memoria.
Llegar allí es tu meta.
Mas no apresures el viaje.
Mejor que se extienda largos años;
y en tu vejez arribes a la isla
con cuanto hayas ganado en el camino, sin esperar que Ítaca te enriquezca.

Ítaca te regaló un hermoso viaje.
Sin ella el camino no hubieras emprendido. Mas ninguna otra cosa puede darte.

Aunque pobre la encuentres,
no te engañará Ítaca.
Rico en saber y en vida, como has vuelto, comprendés ya que significan las Ítacas.

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca, pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon; do not fear them: You will never find such as these on your path, if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine emotion touches your spirit and your body.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter, if you do not carry them within your soul, if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when, with such pleasure,
with such joyyou will enter ports seen for the first time.

Stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral,
amber and ebony, and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can; visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal. But do not hurry the voyage at all. It is better to let it last for many years; and to anchor at the island when you are old, rich with all you have gained on the way, not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage. Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor,
Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become,
with so much experience,
you must already have understood
what Ithacas mean."

Konstantínos Kaváfis (1911)

Footnote
Ithaca, Greece, is an island in the Ionian sea, the birthplace of Ulysses, in Greek: Odysseus. His ten-year long adventures on his way home after the Trojan war have been told in Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey.

Ithaca the poem was written in 1911 by Konstantinos P. Kavafis, one of Greece's most distinguished poets. He was born on the 29th April 1863 and died on the same date in 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt.