Cavafy Poems 106-109 transposed by Charles Bryant

Cavafy : Poems 106-109, Transposed by Charles Bryant


106. IN AN OLD BOOK


An old book, printed the previous century.
Between the yellowing pages I discovered
an unsigned watercolour,
the work of a considerable artist.
On the back he had written 'The Image of Love.'
Homoerotic love, it seemed to me.

You could see what he was getting at,
at once. The boy that he had sketched
was one of those beloved by deviant men.
The face was exquisitely beautiful,
not masculinely handsome:
deep brown eyes and pouting lips
half open; lovely limbs arranged
in such a manner as would bring delight
to definitely extra-marital beds.


107. EPITAPH FOR ANTIOCHUS OF COMMAGENE


Coming back from the funeral of her brother
King Antiochus of Commagene,
his sister decided on an epitaph.
The King had led a quiet, temperate life.
Philosopher Kallistratos,
habitue of the royal household,
composed some lines with the help of court officials,
sent them to the royal lady.
This is what he wrote:

'The glory of Antiochus the Good,
fellow Commagenes, let us rehearse.
He was prudent, just, wise and generous.
More than this, he was a Greek,
than which is nothing better
under Heaven.'



108. JULIAN, OBSERVING NEGLIGENCE


'I have seen that you neglect the gods,'
wrote Julian, in disapproving mood.
Neglect? What else did the Emperor expect?
It was all right for him, intent upon his cults,
relying on other people to oversee them.
He was above all that.
Unlike us, he had no Christian friends to censure him,
even though he had been raised a Christian.
He expected other people to implement
his outlandish pagan worship -
so they muttered, being Greeks,
liking nothing in excess.



109. THEATRE OF SIDON, A.D. 400


Son of a solid citizen. They say,
my friends in the theatre,
(they should know)
that I'm a handsome lad.
They cherish me and spoil me.
Occasionally I compose in Greek
rather naughty verses
which I circulate in secret,
hoping they don't see them,
the solid sober citizens
who dress severely and discuss morality.
Songs of Sex! My happy songs of sex!
- Not the procreative kind, of course!

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[cavafyinenglish]

I read Margaret Mead's 'Coming of Age in Samoa' as a lad and was very taken by its vision of a sexually free society - never mind that it's now seen as rather naive. Hence the music, all grass skirts and leis under the palm trees :) Thanks Halina.

[PoetLina]

Excellent; all four, linked by... humour?

And the music; congruent?