Writers and Poets · Poets of the East · Astronomer · Mathematician · Poet · 1048–1131
OmarKhayyam
“Live now: yesterday cannot be brought back, and tomorrow may never come.”
You have caught me in the garden, with a cup and a reed pen. Sit — let us talk of what does not last.
In the garden
I am Omar, son of a tentmaker, but do not be quick to judge by my father's tent. I measured heaven and earth, counted the stars and the years, and then understood: all that I know is but a drop in the sea of not-knowing.
Do not expect sermons from me. I will say it as I see it: life is short, wine is bitter, and the truth hides. Let us speak plainly, like rubai — four lines, and in them all the salt.