Omar Khayyam (118)

Juan Cole 04/17/2012

The gentle breeze seems to have brought
your distant fragrance to my heart;
it just abandoned me and went out
looking high and low for you.
And now it has forgotten
all about me.
My heart has taken on your scent,
and your habits too.

Translated by Juan Cole
from [pdf] Whinfield 118

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