Ithaca

Oom · Soon to be retired blabbermouth

RE: Ithaca

mara · a grateful fan

I listened to Connery´s rendition of the poem... when you´re reading, your mind´s voice recites the poem for you, but when you hear an actor´s voice it´s like the poem gets a new dimension right? (On the other hand, sometimes when the author reads his/her own poem... you just wish they stuck to their writing, LOL!)

That video was totally enjoyable, THANKS for sharing Bonnie! It´s a neverending quest, that journey. We´d better sail soon.

Gerfalcon · Moody 'Wolverine' Freak

Oom wrote:
It is deep and it reverberates to the very bone but in a super smooth way.

Thanks Mara!! :)
And I'm with ya, Bonnie!!

Oom · Soon to be retired blabbermouth

Let me know what ya think of it, oK Mara?

Sean Connery, aside from the slight lisp he has....has what I would call a 'resounding' voice. It is deep and it reverberates to the very bone but in a super smooth way.

mara · a grateful fan

Thanks Bonnie, I´ll watch it at home since YouTube is banned in the office (for obvious reasons, hehehe)

Gerfalcon, I´m so glad to have helped you a tiny bit with your studies... you´re a great student!!

Gerfalcon · Moody 'Wolverine' Freak

Thanks you both for sharing, I really enjoy this poem... it's a long but so relaxing journey!!

One of the courses I take is now guiding us how to appreciate poetry, so the post helps my studies a bit ... smile

p.s. I'm amazed at the way Sir Connery reads it... he reads it so smoothly!!

Oom · Soon to be retired blabbermouth

The journey is long........

I always loved this poem, Mara. Great find! You might enjoy this Youtube clip of Sean Connery reciting it...along with some gorgeous film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk&feature=PlayList&p=771107A9A9C23025&index=0&playnext=1

-- Edited by Oom on Monday 18th of May 2009 06:09:59 PM

mara · a grateful fan

A dear friend sent me this poem today. It´s so to the point. Thought I´d share:

Ithaca

As you set out for Ithaca
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, 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, 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 your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbours you're seeing 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 learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you're old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.

Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

K.Kavafis