Horace in Athens by C.P. Cavafy

Horace in Athens 

by C.P. Cavafy

translated by Rae Dalven

In the room of Leah the hetaera 

where elegance, wealth, a soft bed are found, 

a young man with jasmine in his hands is talking. 

Many stones adorn his fingers, 

and he wears a himation of white silk 

with red oriental embroidery. 

His language is Attic and pure, 

but a slight accent in his pronunciation 

betrays his Tiber and Latium origin. 

The young man confesses his love 

and the Athenian girl hears him in silence, 

listens to Horace, her eloquent lover.