Omar Khayyam (145) “my bewilderment”

Juan Cole 06/20/2012

I was disturbed that
he brought me into being,
and nothing has grown
through my life
like my bewilderment at it.
We’re forced to depart,
and don’t even know what
the point is
of all this coming
and going and being.

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 145

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.