Cavafy In Carmel Poem by Glen Martin Fitch

Is there anything more embarrassing
Than the tell-tale wreckage of love
The morning after?

My accomplice and I might smile,
But an intruder's smirk
Would make me blush.

He struck me at first sight- classic form,
Eternal youth, such thoughtless beauty,
A careless gesture.

At once I felt the urge to grab, to hide,
To weep, to pee, to die, to bite,
To shout for joy!

As Alexander I'd have bribed him,
Made metal, marble sing this warrior's praise
And be his slave.

Mid-glance his eyes pierced mine.
I felt redeemed. He saw right through me
And turned away.

His face was on my pillow last night.
(His downy cheek against my scratchy chin.
Encircled in my arms,

In that other world we seek to conquer,
All night my love was mine.)
How the feathers flew!