Omar Khayyam (130) On Forgiveness and Falling off the Wagon

Juan Cole 05/17/2012

I singlehandedly keep
this bar afloat.
My heart has bled
with repentance
a couple thousand times.
But if I don’t go on sinning,
what would divine mercy do?
He can’t bestow forgiveness
unless I keep falling
off the wagon.

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 130

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment and Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires. Follow him at @jricole.