Constantine P. Cavafy, "Finished"

[the_grynne]

FINISHED

Submerged in fear and suspicion,
with troubled mind and frightened eyes,
we dissolve. We make plans
to avoid the certain danger
so dreadfully threatening us.
But we are mistaken. It does not lie in our path.
The messages were lies
(or we did not hear or heard wrong).
Another catastrophe, never imagined,
sudden, falling in torrents,
finds us unprepared--out of time--and bears us away.

CONSTANTINE P. CAVAFY
1911

Translated from the Greek by Aliki Barnstone