Whene’er I walk the public ways,
How many poor that lack ablution
Do probe my heart with pensive gaze,
And beg a trivial contribution!
Owen Seaman
Orion's Cold Fire
All the Secrets of the Universe and Some Really Important Stuff Too!
All the Secrets of the Universe and Some Really Important Stuff Too!
Whene’er I walk the public ways,
How many poor that lack ablution
Do probe my heart with pensive gaze,
And beg a trivial contribution!
Owen Seaman
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
Omar Khayyam
I think Omar Khayyam may have trumped the message of Mr. Seaman. And that particular translation reads like poetry compared to Owen’s doggerel.