1, 2, 3, 4
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A Few Quatrains of
`Omar Khayyām

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Stock Dove / Stock Pigeon (fākhte). Photo, Wikipedia
چند رباعی از عمر خیّام 
AUDIO
Learn the VOCABULARY for Quatrain 3
1

That palace which rivaled the universe [in its grandeur]

 آن قصر که بر چرخ همی زد پهلو
2

At the sills of its gates, kings laid their faces [in submission]

 بر درگه او شهان نهادندی رو
3

We saw on its parapet a dove

 دیدیم که بر کنگره‌اش فاخته‌ای
4 Sitting and saying: Where, where? Where, where?(The hoo-hoo sound of the dove is coo-coo in Persian. Just as “hoo-hoo” is suggestive of the bird asking “Who, who?” in English, “coo-coo” is suggestive of the bird asking “Where, where?” in Persian.) بنشسته همی گفت که کوکو کوکو
Persian from Ali Dashti Edition, source, quatrain 31
 
Edward FitzGerald Editions Inspired by this Quatrain. source

Rubaiyāt, Stanza 20, 2nd edition only

The Palace to Heav'n his pillars threw,
And kings the forehead on his threshold drew--
I saw the solitary Ringdove there,
And "Coo, coo, coo," she cried; and "Coo, coo, coo."
 
   
The information on this page has been taken, in part, from Barney Rickenbacker's comprehensive collection of editions and translations of Khayām and FitzGerald: Exploring Khayyam. The Quatrain on this page is his "Quatrain 24".