Omar Khayyam (60)

Juan Cole 03/13/2012

I am not suited to the mosque
nor fitted to the church
The Lord knows
what he made my clay from.
I am like an atheist mystic
or an ugly prostitute:
Neither religion nor worldliness,
and no hope of paradise.

Translared by Juan Cole
from [pdf] Whinfield 58

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is 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 and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page