Cavafy--Translated by Aliki Barnstone

Che Fece . . . Il Gran Rifiuto

A day comes to some people when
they must pronounce the great Yes or the great No.
It is instantly clear who has the Yes within,
ready; and by uttering it, he crosses over to

his honor and conviction. The one who
refuses has no remorse. If asked again,
he'd say no again. And yet that No —
the right No — weighs him down to his life's end.

[1901]
Translated with Willis Barnstone

These translations are excellent--the rhyme crept in here, too. I tried this before with my grandmother's old Greek dictionary last April--that was my poetry project for National Poetry Month. Mostly, I learned it's hard to translate a poem if you don't know how the language sounds. German wasn't much better, either.

I think I'll order the book.