THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM 

 

The Rubaiyat is a beautiful string of quatrains composed by the Persian Sufi mystic and astronomer Omar Khayyam, who lived from the second half of the 11th Century AD into the first quarter of the 12th Century AD.  His work has been translated into English by various figures, but by none more notably than Edward Fitzgerald, a brilliant Englishman who produced his first translation of The Rubaiyat in 1858.  Unlike the wonderful translations of 13th-century Sufi mystic Jelaluddin Balkhi (Rumi)  which have been produced by Coleman Barks "et al" in our own day - translations which have, of late, taken the spiritual and the sensitive by storm - Fitzgerald's marvelous translation now belongs to the public domain, which allows me to reprint it here.  In this case, "translation" may best be understood as "approximation", or perhaps not even that - perhaps as "work inspired by."  For Fitzgerald's beautiful text seems, many times - once it is compared to other, less passionate translations - to be as much his own creation, as Omar Khayyam's.  Without denying the genius and sensibility of the original author, Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat seems to be a poem that has incorporated and reworked the lyrics of Omar Khayyam to produce something that is spiritually kindred, yet metaphorically distinct.  Rather than attempting to mimic what was written by the ancient Persian mystic, it is as though Fitzgerald let the spark of Khayyam's soul ignite his own - as though he let Khayyam possess him; shake him with his life force, his impassioned mixture of joy and melancholy; compel him to write the poem all over again, this time in English, without allowing what had been said before to get in the way.  The result, no matter how far it has diverged from the original, preserves the legacy of a remarkable spirit with a timeless voice; and stands on its own as one of the great masterpieces of English literature. 

[During his lifetime, Fitzgerald produced several variations of his original translation.  Following is the "first edition", with one verse (XI) substituted for by the corresponding verse of the "fifth edition", and one verse (XII) amended by input from the "second edition."  In verse LIX, "Ramazan" - an antique spelling utilized by Fitzgerald? - is left intact.]

 

I

Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night

Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight":

And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught

The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light.

 

II

 

Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky

I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry,

"Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup

Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry."

 

III

 

And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before

The Tavern shouted - "Open then the Door!

You know how little while we have to stay,

And, once departed, may return no more."

 

IV

 

Now the New Year reviving old Desires,

The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires,

Where the WHITE HAND of MOSES on the Bough

Puts out, and Jesus from the Ground suspires.

 

V

 

Iram indeed is gone with all its Rose

And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows;

But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields,

And still a Garden by the Water blows.

 

VI

 

And David's Lips are lock't; but in divine

High piping Pehlevi, with "Wine! Wine! Wine!

Red Wine!" - the Nightingale cries to the Rose

That yellow Cheek of hers to incarnadine.

 

VII

 

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring

The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:

The Bird of Time has but a little way

To fly - and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.

 

VIII

 

And look - a thousand Blossoms with the Day

Woke - and a thousand scatter'd into Clay:

And this first Summer Month that brings the Rose

Shall take Jamshyd and Kaikobad away.

 

IX

 

But come with old Khayyam, and leave the Lot

Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot:

Let Rustum lay about him as he will,

Or Hatim Tai cry Supper - heed them not.

 

X

 

With me along some Strip of Herbage strown

That just divides the desert from the sown,

Where name of Slave and Sultan scarce is known,

And pity Sultan Mahmud on his Throne.

 

XI

 

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread - and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness-

Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

 

XII

 

Some for the Glories of This World; and some

Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come;

Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest,

Nor heed the music of a distant Drum!

 

XIII

 

Look to the Rose that blows about us - "Lo,

Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow:

At once the silken Tassel of my Purse

Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw."

 

XIV

 

The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon

Turns Ashes - or it prospers; and anon,

Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face

Lighting a little Hour or two - is gone.

 

XV

 

And those who husbanded the Golden Grain,

And those who flung it to the Winds like Rain,

Alike to no such aureate Earth are turn'd

As, buried once, Men want dug up again.

 

XVI

 

Think, in this batter'd Caravanserai

Whose Doorways are alternate Night and Day,

How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp

Abode his Hour or two, and went his way.

 

XVII

 

They say the Lion and the Lizard keep

The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep:

And Bahram, that great Hunter - the Wild Ass

Stamps o'er his Head, and he lies fast asleep.

 

XVIII

 

I sometimes think that never blows so red

The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled;

That every Hyacinth the Garden wears

Dropt in its Lap from some once lovely Head.

 

XIX

 

And this delightful Herb whose tender Green

Fledges the River's Lip on which we lean -

Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows

From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen!

 

XX

 

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears

TO-DAY of past Regrets and future Fears -

To-morrow? - Why, To-morrow I may be

Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years.

 

XXI

 

Lo! some we loved, the loveliest and the best

That time and Fate of all their Vintage prest,

Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,

And one by one crept silently to Rest.

 

XXII

 

And we, that now make merry in the Room

They left, and Summer dresses in new Bloom,

Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth

descend, ourselves to make a Couch - for whom?

 

XXIII

 

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,

Before we too into the Dust descend;

Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie,

Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and - sans End.

 

XXIV

 

Alike for those who for TO-DAY prepare,

And those that after a TO-MORROW stare,

a Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries

"Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There!"

 

XXV

 

Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd

Of the Two Worlds so learnedly, are thrust

Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn

Are scatter'd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.

 

XXVI

 

Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise

To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;

One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;

The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

 

XXVII

 

Myself when young did eagerly frequent

Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument

About it and about:  but evermore

Came out by the same Door as in I went.

 

XXVIII

 

With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,

And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:

And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd -

"I came like Water, and like Wind I go."

 

XXIX

 

Into this Universe, and why not knowing,

Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing;

And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,

I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing.

 

XXX

 

What, without asking, hither hurried whence?

And, without asking, whither hurried hence!

Another and another Cup to drown

The Memory of this Impertinence!

 

XXXI

 

Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate

I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate,

And many Knots unravel'd by the Road;

But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate.

 

XXXII

 

There was a Door to which I found no Key:

There was a Veil past which I could not see:

Some little Talk awhile of ME and THEE

There seem'd - and then no more of THEE and ME.

 

XXXIII

 

Then to the rolling Heav'n itself I cried,

Asking, "What Lamp had Destiny to guide

Her little Children stumbling in the Dark?"

And - "A blind Understanding!" Heav'n replied.

 

XXXIV

 

Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn

My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn:

And Lip to Lip it murmur'd - "While you live

Drink! - for once dead you never shall return."

 

XXXV

 

I think the Vessel, that with fugitive

Articulation answer'd, once did live,

And merry-make; and the cold Lip I kiss'd

How many Kisses might it take - and give!

 

XXXVI

 

For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day,

I watch'd the Potter thumping his wet Clay:

And with its obliterated Tongue

It murmur'd - "Gently, Brother, gently, pray!"

 

XXXVII

 

Ah, fill the Cup: - what boots it to repeat

How Time is slipping underneath our Feet:

Unborn TO-MORROW, and dead YESTERDAY

Why fret about them if TO-DAY be sweet!

 

XXXVIII

 

One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,

One Moment, of the Well of Life to taste -

The stars are setting and the Caravan

Starts for the Dawn of Nothing - Oh, make haste!

 

XXXIX

 

How long, how long, in definite Pursuit

Of This and That endeavor and dispute?

Better be merry with the fruitful Grape

Than sadder after none, or bitter, Fruit.

 

XL

 

You know, my Friends, how long since in my House

For a new Marriage I did make Carouse:

Divorced old barren Reason from my Bed,

And took the Daughter of the Vine to Spouse.

 

XLI

 

For "Is" and "Is-NOT" though with Rule and Line

And "Up-AND-DOWN"  without, I could define,

I yet in all I only cared to know,

Was never deep in anything but - Wine.

 

XLII

 

And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,

Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel Shape

Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and

He bid me taste of it; and 'twas - the Grape!

 

XLIII

 

The Grape that can with Logic absolute

The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:

The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice

Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute.

 

XLIV

 

The mighty Mahmud, the victorious Lord,

That all the misbelieving and black Horde

Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the Soul

Scatters and slays with his enchanted Sword.

 

XLV

 

But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with me

The Quarrel of the Universe let be:

And, in some corner of the Hubbub coucht,

Make Game of that which makes as much of Thee.

 

XLVI

 

For in and out, above, about, below,

'Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show

Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun,

Round which we Phantom Figures come and go.

 

XLVII

 

And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press,

End in the Nothing all Things end in - Yes -

Then fancy while Thou art, Thou art but what

Thou shalt be - Nothing - Thou shalt not be less.

 

XLVIII

 

While the Rose blows along the River Brink,

With old Khayyam the Ruby Vintage drink:

And when the Angel with his darker Draught

Draws up to Thee - take that, and do not shrink.

 

XLIX

 

"Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days

Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays:

Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,

And one by one back in the closet lays.

 

L

 

The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes,

But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes;

And He that toss'd Thee down into the Field,

He knows about it all - he Knows - HE knows!

 

LI

 

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on:  nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

 

LII

 

And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,

Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die,

Lift not thy hands to It for help - for It

Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.

 

LIII

 

With Earth's first Clay They did the Last Man's knead,

And then of the Last Harvest sow'd the Seed:

Yea, the first Morning of Creation wrote

What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.

 

LIV

 

I tell Thee this - When, starting from the Goal,

Over the shoulders of the flaming Foal

Of Heav'n and Parwin and Mushtara they flung,

In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul.

 

LV

 

The Vine had struck a Fibre: which about

If clings my Being - let the Sufi flout;

Of my Base Metal may be filed a Key,

That shall unlock the Door he howls without.

 

LVI

 

And this I know:  whether the one True Light,

Kindle to Love, or Wrath consume me quite,

One glimpse of It within the Tavern caught

Better than in the Temple lost outright.

 

LVII

 

Oh, Thou, who didst with Pitfall and with Gin

Beside the Road I was to wander in,

Thou wilt not with Predestination round

Enmesh me, and impute my Fall to Sin?

 

LVIII

 

Oh, Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make,

And who with Eden didst devise the Snake;

For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man

Is blacken'd, Man's Forgiveness give - and take!

 

*  *  *  *  *

 

KUZA-NAMA

 

LIX

 

Listen again.  One evening at the close

Of Ramazan, ere the better Moon arose,

In that old Potter's Shop I stood alone

With the clay Population round in rows.

 

LX

 

And, strange to tell, among the Earthen Lot

Some could articulate, while others not:

And suddenly one more impatient cried -

"Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?"

 

LXI

 

Then said another - "Surely not in vain

My Substance from the common Earth was ta'en,

That He who subtly wrought me into Shape

Should stamp me back to common Earth again."

 

LXII

 

Another said - "Why, ne'er a peevish Boy,

Would break the Bowl from which he drank in Joy;

Shall he that made the Vessel in pure Love

And Fancy, in an after Rage destroy!"

 

LXIII

 

None answer'd this; but after Silence spake

A vessel of more ungainly Make:

"They sneer at me for leaning all awry;

What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?"

 

LXIV

 

Said one - "Folks of a surly Tapster tell,

And daub his Visage with the Smoke of Hell;

They talk of some strict Testing of us - Pish!

He's a Good Fellow, and 'twill all be well."

 

LXV

 

Then said another with a long-drawn Sigh,

"My Clay with long oblivion is gone dry:

But, fill me with the old familiar Juice,

Methinks I might recover by-and-by!"

 

LXVI

 

So while the Vessels one by one were speaking,

One spied the little Crescent all were seeking:

And then they jogg'd each other, "Brother, Brother!

Hark to the Porter's Shoulder-knot a creaking!"

 

*  *  *  *  * 

 

LXVII

 

Ah, with the Grape my fading Life provide,

And wash my Body whence the Life has died,

And in a Windingsheet of Vine-leaf wrapt,

So bury me by some sweet Garden-side.

 

LXVIII

 

That ev'n my buried Ashes such a Snare

Of Perfume shall fling up into the Air,

As not a True Believer passing by

But shall be overtaken unaware.

 

LXIX

 

Indeed the Idols I have loved so long

Have done my Credit in Men's eye much wrong:

Have drown'd my Honour in a shallow Cup,

And sold my Reputation for a Song.

 

LXX

 

Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before

I swore - but was I sober when I swore?

And then and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand

My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore.

 

LXXI

 

And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel,

And robb'd me of my Robe of Honour - well,

I often wonder what the Vintners buy

One half so precious as the Goods they sell.

 

LXXII

 

Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose!

That Youth's sweet-scented Manuscript should close!

The Nightingale that in the Branches sang,

Ah, whence, and whither flown again, who knows!

 

LXXIII

 

Ah Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire

To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,

Would not we shatter it to bits - and then

Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!

 

LXXIV

 

Ah, Moon of my Delight, who know'st no wane,

The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again:

How oft hereafter rising shall she look

Through this same Garden after me - in vain!

 

LXXV

 

And when Thyself with shining Foot shall pass

Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,

And in thy joyous Errand reach the Spot

Where I made one - turn down an empty Glass!

 

TAMAM SHUD

 

 

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