ENG-Anon: "Rubaiyyat" (selected verses) by Omar Khayyam (as translated by Richard Le Galienne)

I first heard this poem in "The Portable Atheist" by Christopher Hitchens. Imagine that, a book is a portable thing. Never would have occurred to me! Although I am no longer an atheist, I still love this poem for its irony and its incisiveness as directed at religious dogmas. The verse where Khayyam muses about "beautiful young girls" were probably young women, for I can guarantee that Khayyam was no creep. But, I digress. Enjoy this reading. It never grows old. The best part, is that this poetry masquerades as an agent for atheism, when it is actually not that at all. Who said poets know nothing of information warfare! 11:11