Ithaka

When you set out on the journey to Ithaka [Ithaca, Odysseus's island home],
wish that the road be long,
full of adventures, full of knowledge.
The Laistrygonians [a race of cannibal giants from the Odyssey] and the Cyclopes,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them;
such things you will never find on your road,
if your thought remains lofty, if a chosen [lit. "select / elect"] 
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclopes,
the fierce Poseidon you will not encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Wish that the road be long.
May there be many summer mornings
when, with pleasure, with joy,
you will enter harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician [lit. "Phoinikika," of ancient Phoenicia] trading posts,
and acquire the fine wares,
mother-of-pearl and corals, ambers and ebonies,
and sensual [lit. "pleasure-laden / voluptuous"] perfumes of every kind,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
to many Egyptian cities may you go,
to learn and learn from the learned.

Always keep Ithaka in your mind.
Arriving there is your destiny [lit. "destination / appointed end"].
But do not rush the journey at all.
Better that it last for many years;
and as an old man at last drop anchor at the island,
rich with all that you have gained on the road,
not expecting Ithaka to give you riches.

Ithaka gave you the beautiful journey.
Without her you would not have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka has not deceived [lit. "fooled / cheated"] you.
So wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you will have understood by then what Ithakas mean.