As Much As You Can, 
by Constantine Cavafy

And even if you cannot make your life the way you want it, 
this much, at least, try to do
as much as you can: don't cheapen it
with too much intercourse with society,
with too much movement and conversation.

Don't cheapen it by taking it about,
making the rounds with it, exposing it
to the everyday inanity
of relations and connections,
so it becomes like a stranger, burdensome. 

- Translation by Daniel Mendelsohn: http://amzn.com/e/B001I9NA3G

[Yahia Lababidi's work can be found, here:  http://amzn.com/e/B0042SRQWG ]

As Much As You Can, by Constantine Cavafy - read by Yahia Lababidi

Egyptian-American author of 11 critically-acclaimed books.  Lababidi's latest are: "Quarantine Notes" short meditations composed during our global pandemic & "Learning to Pray" a collection of his spiritual poems & aphorisms.

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/author/yahialababidi