Ithaka

When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
…
Have Ithaka always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But do not in the least hurry the journey.
Better that it last for years,
So that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained along the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.

Ithaka gave you the splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
he hasn’t anything else to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka has not deceived you.
So wise have you become, of such experience,
that already you will have understood what these Ithakas mean.

C.P. Cavafy
(tr. Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard)