In the Harbor-Town Εις το Eπίνειον [KONSTANTINOS KAVAFIS]

FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE CAVAFY ARCHIVE

 

CONSTANTINE CAVAFY

In the Harbor-Town

  The Canon
 

Emis?young, twenty-eight?

reached this Syrian harbor in a Tenian ship,

his plan to learn the incense trade.

But ill during the voyage,

he died as soon as he was put ashore.

His burial, the poorest possible, took place here.

A few hours before dying he whispered something

about ?home,? about ?very old parents.?

But nobody knew who they were,

or what country he called home

in the great panhellenic world.

Better that way; because as it is,

though he lies buried in this harbor-town,

his parents will always have the hope he?s still alive.

Translated by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard

(C.P. Cavafy, Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Edited by George Savidis. Revised Edition. Princeton University Press, 1992)

 

En el puerto

Joven, de veintiocho a?os, en un barco de Tinos
lleg? Emes a este puerto sirio,
con el prop?sito de aprender perfumer?a.
Pero en la traves?a se enferm?. Y apenas
desembarc?, muri?. Su entierro, muy pobre,
se hizo aqu?. Pocas horas antes de morir algo
susurr? sobre un "hogar", sobre "padres muy ancianos".
Pero qui?nes eran ellos nadie lo supo,
ni cu?l su patria en el vasto mundo panhel?nico.
Mejor. Porque as? mientras
yace muerto en este puerto,
siempre tendr?n sus padres la esperanza de que est? vivo.

 

source:

http://amediavoz.com/cavafy.htm#EN%20EL%20PUERTO

 

 

Εις το Eπίνειον

  Αναγνωρισμένα
 

Νέος, είκοσι οκτώ ετών, με πλοίον τήνιον

έφθασε εις τούτο το συριακόν επίνειον

ο Έμης, με την πρόθεσι να μάθει μυροπώλης.

Όμως αρρώστησε εις τον πλουν. Και μόλις

απεβιβάσθη, πέθανε. Η ταφή του, πτωχοτάτη,

έγιν? εδώ. Ολίγες ώρες πριν πεθάνει, κάτι

ψιθύρισε για «οικίαν», για «πολύ γέροντας γονείς».

Μα ποιοι ήσαν τούτοι δεν εγνώριζε κανείς,

μήτε ποια η πατρίς του μες στο μέγα πανελλήνιον.

Καλλίτερα. Γιατί έτσι ενώ

κείται νεκρός σ? αυτό το επίνειον,

θα τον ελπίζουν πάντα οι γονείς του ζωντανό.

(Από τα Ποιήματα 1897-1933, Ίκαρος 1984)


Εις το Επίνειον (ανάγνωση)
(διαβάζει: Σουλιώτης Μίμης, Ανέκδοτη ηχογράφηση, Αθήνα 2002)

 

 

 

NEL PORTO 

 

Emis, un giovane di ventotto anni, ?

approdato a questo porto siriano su

una nave di Tino, per apprendere l?arte

dei profumi. Ma sulla nave si ?

ammalato. E appena sbarcato ? morto.

La sua tomba, poverissima, ? qui.

Poche ore prima di morire, aveva

bisbigliato qualche parola, ?casa?,

?vecchi genitori?. Ma nessuno sa niente

di loro, n? della sua patria nel grande

mondo della grecit?. Meglio cos?.

Perch? mentre giace morto in questo

porto, i suoi genitori lo penseranno

sempre vivo. 

 

Kostantinos Kavafis 

 

http://www.occhiofantastico.it/zenphoto/konstantinos-kavafis/nel-porto.jpg.php