On an ebony bed decorated
with coral eagles, sound asleep lies
Nero -- unconscious, quiet, and blissful;
thriving in the vigor of flesh,
and in the splendid power of youth.

But in the alabaster hall that encloses
the ancient shrine of the Aenobarbi
how restive are his Lares.
The little household gods tremble,
and try to hide their insignificant bodies.
For they heard a horrible clamor,
a deathly clamor ascending the stairs,
iron footsteps rattling the stairs.
And now in a faint the miserable Lares,
burrow in the depth of the shrine,
one tumbles and stumbles upon the other,
one little god falls over the other
for they understand what sort of clamor this is,
they are already feeling the footsteps of the Furies.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 6014 times | Comments (0)

Poet: Constantine P. Cavafy
Poem: Footsteps

Year: Published/Written in 1909
Poem of the Day on:
May 4 2005
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Footsteps, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Constantine P. Cavafy with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!