My favorite poems #3: The God Abandons Antony, by Constantin Cavafy

(Constantin Cavafy)

What I like about this poem:
The poem paints one of the richest pictures of dealing with loss that I've seen.

It is set in antique history, specifically, it recounts the days immediately preceding Roman general Mark Antony's defeat to Octavian's forces in the struggle for Roman succession after Julius Cesar. Mark Antony was in Alexandria (Egypt) (among other things, he was having a love affair with Cleopatra) when the scene described in the poem takes place. It is clear that Antony will be defeated, the issue dealt with in the poem is how to face that loss.

The moment being described is that of Antony's protector-god, Bacchus, leaving the city of Alexandria in a procession, and essentially abandoning Antony. Basically, the city is "leaving him". The poem emphasizes the depth of this moment of culmination, and encourages Antony to embrace the loss as something meaningful in itself. But that great meaning can only be obtained if he holds on to his role in the event, rather than making excuses. The poem also really emphasizes the moment itself as something of value, exhorting Antony not to dwell on the past leading up to it. He's told to go to the window and take in the procession rather than brood about how it came to this! Finally, the poem emphasizes this event as an opportunity for Antony to demonstrate courage and character, acknowledge his role in the moment, and almost (to my reading) obtain a measure of redemption.

To me, this stands in stark contrast to the way popular society often responds to our loss: there is no second chance here, no "it'll be OK". He is going down, and the city with him! But somehow, the poem conjures up a way of looking at the situation that is even more cathartic: the loss just "is", and therein lies value and a measure of redemption.

Finally, Leonard Cohen turned this into a phenomenal and haunting ballad called "Alexandra leaving" (he personalizes the city of Alexandria into a woman). Here's a YouTube link:

The God Abandons Antony
(Constantin Cavafy)

When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
an invisible procession going by
with exquisite music, voices,
don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now,
work gone wrong, your plans
all proving deceptive—don’t mourn them uselessly.
As one long prepared, and graced with courage,
say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving.
Above all, don’t fool yourself, don’t say
it was a dream, your ears deceived you:
don’t degrade yourself with empty hopes like these.
As one long prepared, and graced with courage,
as is right for you who proved worthy of this kind of city,
go firmly to the window
and listen with deep emotion, but not
with the whining, the pleas of a coward;
listen—your final delectation—to the voices,
to the exquisite music of that strange procession,
and say goodbye to her, to the Alexandria you are losing.

(credit for the translation goes here: http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=12&cat=1)