The City – C. P. Cavafy

Posted: 25th March 2011 by admin in Uncategorized

The City


You said, “I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.
Another city will be found, better than this.
Every effort of mine is condemned by fate;
and my heart is — like a corpse — buried.
How long in this wasteland will my mind remain.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see the black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years, and ruined and wasted.”

New lands you will not find, you will not find other seas.
The city will follow you. You will roam the same
streets. And you will age in the same neighborhoods;
in these same houses you will grow gray.
Always you will arrive in this city. To another land — do not hope —
there is no ship for you, there is no road.
As you have ruined your life here
in this little corner, you have destroyed it in the whole world.


– Constantine P. Cavafy (1910)
Greek poet born in Egypt, lived in Alexandria, Constantinople & Liverpool.
  1. Anonymous says:

    Well my first question is, what kind of program? A video program or an online community program or an on-campus program? Currently I’m in Taiwan and a program where I could regularly connect with TCKs or people who understand TCKs and just chat about life or travels would be so nice!