Page:Quatrains of Omar Khayyam (tr. Whinfield, 1883).djvu/184

128

From life we draw now wine, now dregs to drink, Now flaunt in silk, and now in tatters shrink; Such changes wisdom holds of slight account To those who stand on death's appalling brink!

What sage the eternal tangle e'er unravelled, Or one short step beyond his nature travelled? From pupils to the masters turn your eyes, And see, each mother's son alike is gravelled.

Crave not of worldly sweets to take your fill, Nor wait on turns of fortune, good or ill; Be of light heart, as are the skies above, They roll a round or two, and then lie still.

K