24 All-Star Readers on the Words That Rock Their Worlds
Rita Wilson
For me, Constantin Cavafy's "Ithaka" is about the journey of life. We know that along the way we will encounter "monsters," but Cavafy reminds us that these will just be passing difficulties, and that all your thoughts are within your control: "Laistrygonians and Cyclops, / wild Poseidon—you won't encounter them / unless you bring them along inside your soul."
Read "Ithaka" by Constantine Cavafy
From the April 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine