A New Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
We were sitting in semi-quarantine at our vacation cottage in Mississippi when the idea hit. I had loved the Rubaiyat since my
High School girlfriend introduced me to it in 1969. I used a verse performing a wedding here a couple of years ago, but some
of the other verses were a little dated. (Who are Jamyshyd and Kaikobad, anyway?) So, I started a project!
In 1859, Edward Fitzgerald published a book of magic:
the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a translation of Persian quatrains with irreverent insight into the meaning of life and death, the tavern and the temple.
But times have changed, and the Rubaiyat needs an update! With the same heart but 21st Century vocabulary and culture, here it is:
Your copy of the book includes both old and new versions--on the same page so you can compare.1859 Version by Edward Fitzgerald (verse 6)
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.A New Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (verse 6)
"The Rose must be crimson,"
my True Love said.
But all I could find were sallow instead.
A song all night from a thicket of thorns,
left one red rose where the Nightingale bled. It was a medieval/renaissance style wedding in March 2017. In fact, the groom had asked for a Buddhist-Darwinist wedding. Other than the Bible, where can you turn for meaningful words?
I found them in the writings of the Buddha, Charles Darwin, and Omar Khayyam.
From Khayyam:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly--and Lo! The Bird is on the Wing.
Yesterday abandoned me in a huff;
Tomorrow is imaginary fluff
So pour us another toasting round,
"To Today! It will have to be enough"See how I used the thoughts of the Rubaiyat at the wedding. If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact me at:
jayterlouw@gmail.com