Ithaca
PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Sat 4 Dec 2010 09:11
Pray that the road is long,
Full of adventure, full of knowledge…
Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
With such pleasure, with such joy
You will enter ports seen for the first time,
Stop at Phoenician markets,
And purchase fine merchandise,
Mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony…
Visit many Egyptian cities,
And learn and learn from scholars
Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive in 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 never have 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 Ithaca mean”
Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933)