The Rubaiyat (Selected Verses) - Omar Khayaam

XII
Were it not Folly, Spider-like to spin
The Thread of present Life away to win -
What? for ourselves, who know not if we shall
Breathe out the very Breath we now breathe in!

XXV
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!

XLIX
Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass'd the door of Darkness through
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too.



Omar Khayaam was a Persian philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet (born - 1048, died - 1131).
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Comments (4)

@Socrates..... I'm confuseddunno confused
Hi GoDaniel
Thank you for your comment.
A poem can be viewed in different ways by different persons.
I will attempt to state the gist of the poem as I see it for your sake. Of course, others may see it differently which is okay.

The main message of the three verses that I have quoted is Uncertainty during life and even afterwards .

XII
Spinning the thread of present life away refers to the way we live our lives. The poem asks toward what goal or purpose should we direct our time and energy, and should we become obsessed with our goal since we do not know if our very next breath would be our last.

XXV
It urges us to make the most of whatever time we still have left to live before we die.

XLIX
It asks isn't it strange that of the billions who have lived and died(pass'd the door of Darkness through), not one has returned to tell us what really lies beyond death. It is only after we ourselves die that we shall find out.

I hope you find my comment helpful.

Have a wonderful day!
Thought provoking stuff...thumbs up cheers
Hi Bspoken4
Thanks for your comment.
This translation into English was done by Edward FitzGerald.
Have a great day!
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socrates44

San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

I identify with the following words of Socrates:
“Know thyself”.
“The unexamined life is not worth living”.

I am a person who seek depth in life and living. This has been an overwhelming desire in me even since childhood. It is identified with a [read more]