Before you were dust, the world turned without you. After you are dust, it will turn again. So be kind while you are briefly here.

After the Rubáiyát

LiteraturePhilosophy

Why it matters

The idea in context

A modern verse written in the manner of the Rubáiyát — not a translation of any quatrain. The Rubáiyát is a set of Persian quatrains attributed to the poet-mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), which reached the West through Edward FitzGerald's free rendering of 1859. Its recurring turn is the one this line borrows: the past is spent, tomorrow is unpromised, and the hour in your hands is the only one you own.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Sen toz olmadan önce de dünya sensiz dönüyordu. Sen toz olduktan sonra da yine dönecek. Bu yüzden kısacık buradayken nazik ol.
Rubailer'den esinlenerek

Bu söz, Rubailer'in havasında yazılmış modern bir metindir; herhangi bir dörtlüğün çevirisi değildir. Rubâiyat, şair-matematikçi Ömer Hayyam'a (1048–1131) atfedilen Farsça dörtlükler dizisidir; Batı'ya Edward FitzGerald'ın 1859 tarihli serbest çevirisiyle ulaşmıştır. Sözün ödünç aldığı dönüş de odur: Geçmiş harcandı, yarın vaat edilmedi; elindeki saat, sahip olduğun tek saattir.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Background reading: Omar KhayyamAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
Next in the open archiveThere was no fight left in me. Not because I was weak, but because nothing felt worth the effort. I didn't give up. I drifted out.Q0359