Yon rising Moon that looks for us again—
How oft hereafter will she wax and wane;
How oft hereafter rising look for us
Through this same Garden—and for one in vain!
FitzGerald, Stanza C, 4th ed.
Heron-Allen, 145: "This quatrain in its various forms is inspired by O.5." [Some of these "various forms" occur in the Calcutta MS. Arberry, Romance ... 237, lists three different readings in this quatrain, although none of them significantly alter the meaning of the poem.]
چون عهده نمیکند کسی فردا را
حالی خوش کن تو این دل شیدا
می نوش بنور ماه ای ماه که ماه
بسیار بجوید و نیابد ما را
chon ‘ohde nemikonad kasi fardaa raa
haali khosh kon to in del-e sheydaa raa
mey nush benur-e maah ey maah ke maah
besyaar bejuyad o nayaabad maa raa
Since no-one will go surety for tomorrow,
do you make happy now this distracted heart;
drink wine by the light of the moon, O moon, for the moon
will seek much (hereafter) and will not find us.
Arberry, 237
Ali Dashti, quatrain 63, has published the same text except for the final line which reads betaabad, (the moon) "will shine" instead of bejuyad, "will search". Hedaayat includes this quatrain (112) as does Saidi (15) and Whinfield (7). Below is the Forughi-Ghani reading, which varies slightly from Bodleian/Ouseley 5 (as above). The meaning is not altered. And I italicize the variants in the romanized transcription:
چون عهده نمیشود کسی فردا را
حالی جوش دار ای دل پر سودا را
می نوش بماهتان ای ماه که ماه
بسیار بتابد و نیابد ما را
Forughi-Ghani, quatrain 2
chon ‘ohde nemishavad kasi fardaa raa
haali khosh daar in del-e por sowdaa raa
mey nush bemaahtaab ey maah ke maah
besyaar betaabad o nayaabad maa raa
Since no one can Tomorrow guarantee,
Enjoy the moment, let your heart be free;
Ah, drink, my Moon, in the moonlight for the moon
Will make its rounds but won't find you and me!
Saidi, quatrain 15 (with a note for my Moon... "a complimentary way of addressing the beloved. It implies beauty, purity and glamour.")
Heron-Allen notes that FitzGerald's stanza in the first edition was "a good deal closer [I would just say closer] to the above quatrain:
Ah, Moon of my Delight who know'st no wane,
The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again:
How oft hereafter rising shall she look
Through this same Garden after me--in vain.
FitzGerald, stanza LXXIV, 1st ed.
The promise of tomorrow--
none can grant you that,
for your heart and all its burdens
be glad for the life that's now.
Drink wine by the light of the moon,
moon-radiant lovely friend,
the moon will shine to find us
and find us not again.
For other translations accompanying the Bodleian/Ouseley text select here ... but note that FitzGerald, Stanza II, all editions, relied on Calcutta 5 and not Bodleian 5.