Alef
Sahba Aminikia
Based on three quatrains by : Omar Khayyam
Translated by : Edward Fitzgerald
Kelly Birch, mezzo soprano
Kevin Korth, piano
Performed at San Francisco Conservatory of Music , Recital Hall
March 18th , 2009
Text:
I must abjure the Balm of Life, I must,
Scared by some After-reckoning taen on trust,
Or lured with Hope of some Diviner Drink,
When the frail Cup is crumbled into Dust!
If but the Vine and Love-abjuring Band
Are in the Prophets Paradise to stand,
Alack, I doubt the Prophets Paradise
Were empty as the hollow of Ones hand.
Oh threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise!
One thing at least is certain - This Life flies:
One thing is certain and the rest is lies;
The Flower that once is blown for ever dies.
These poems were translated by Edward Fitzgerald, not F. Scott Fitzgerald.
F. Scott didn't know Persian so he would have a hard time translating, no?
ThatsSoRavin 2 years ago