Piers Russell-Cobb

An Executive Order from Omar Khayyam

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Awake! For in the Savile’s hallowed halls,
The pleasures of life heed Omar’s calls.
The first decree, or where you wish to place,
Is joy’s pursuit, in all its myriad thralls.

Time’s fleeting measure, change’s constant friend,
Watch hands race swift when moments we attend.
But slow they crawl when attention wanders far,
A paradox that mortals comprehend.

Not being, but becoming, marks our days,
Nature’s call beckons in myriad ways.
Spirits soar in outdoor’s vast embrace,
While wine and self-love set the soul ablaze.

Companions true: the verse, the bread, the wine,
In present moments, let your spirit shine.
Hark to the tales of fellows gathered near,
Where time takes flight, and memories entwine.

Life’s brevity, a truth we can’t deny,
Toast love’s intoxication, spirits high.
In cups of friendship, sorrow finds its balm,
As kindred souls share pleasure, by and by.
When deep in cups or lost in pensive thought,
Remember this: the spirit that has wrought
Our helpless state has shaped us as we are,
A truth in wine and wisdom dearly bought.

The objective of this poem is to contrast the type of executive order that might emanate from the President of the United States with one that might have come from a humanist and epicurean such as Omar Khayyam, the twelfth century poet and polymath. It uses the same rhyming quatrain form that Edward Fitzgerald used in his famous translation of Khayyam’s Rubáiyát from Persian to English. The reference to ‘Savile’s hallowed halls’ in the first line is to The Omar Khayyam Club, which was founded on October 13, 1892 and meets about two or three times a year, usually at the Savile Club in London.

Piers Russell-Cobb has been working in and for media companies for 50 years. Currently a director of the distinguished Bridgeman Images, he has worked on a number of books as publisher of Arcadia Books and previously as publicity and promotions director of Heinemann. He has written several magazine pieces and worked with Quentin Crewe on The Great Chefs of France.