"ithaka" poems
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the journey is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
may there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbours seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind -
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey.
without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
4.6k
I am trapped on an island in my mind.
I cannot escape this false paradise.
A higher power has placed me here against my will.
If I am Odysseus, where is my Calypso?
I am floating along, unsure of my way,
Surrounded by unknown dangers.
I don’t know my goal, or how to get there.
If I am Odysseus, where is my Ithaka?
Times are changing, people are moving, going ever forward,
And I'm standing still, unsure of my next move.
The paths ahead of me vary. Some light, some dark, all frightening.
If I am Odysseus, where is my Athena?
May 23, 2011
May 23, 2011 at 10:53 PM UTC
If I was in love,
with being loved,
breaths that covet the tang of your own
standing in stadiums, feeling alone
(waxing poetic, Sappho for the straight girl)
I would not love you, appositive.
For I do not miss hearing,
(I was always too close for believing)
but the rhythmic lap of my own words
(I love you, appositive)
Effortless, slipping from my heart
like a hollow ship on an airy sea
to Ithaka (you) from Ilion (me).
Oct 25, 2012
Oct 25, 2012 at 12:38 PM UTC
DING - DONG
" this is a call to passengers traveling to Ithaka, by way of Kensal Green.
Please have your passports and tickets ready, to be seen".
So did I pack well for this adventure I 'm on,
do I really need the kichen sink I thought I 'd take along.
All those clothes to impress, suits, shirts, ties all layed
Where once all I carried , was a bucket and *****
Then my only foot-print was in soft gritty sand,
As I licked melting coned creamyness, that dripped on my hand
When every moment was filled with sun shine on skys powered blue
And even when grey, still the rainbow shone through
So leaving behind that tightly packed luggage, no room left inside,
But filled up with baggage, I'd aquired on the ride
Cluching my shoulder bag is all that I need, it seems
For tomorrow I 'll buy a new suit case and fill it, with new journyed dreams
DING --DONG
final call
Feb 28, 2011
Feb 28, 2011 at 4:08 AM UTC
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
Mar 19, 2015
Mar 19, 2015 at 10:55 AM UTC
Today
I close the blinds
and turn off the sun
I sit down with
this blue mind
I stumble across the
page with clumsy words
I begin to chase memories
new - old and in between
I collect episodes
of small events
I put them away
and think of you
and maybe we’ll meet in
Kefalonia and we will talk
like awkward strangers
you will read to me Ithaka
and we will find her
poor and smile
a rare emotion will
touch our spirit ...
Clay.M
Jan 27, 2025
Jan 27, 2025 at 10:17 PM UTC