Meaning:

The palace where Arthur sought the Grail
Is the resting home of the weak and frail
And the knight who challenged death on its trail
On the ocean of death forward must sail
Chasing the temporal is to no avail
As soon as you go through death’s dark veil.

Fitzgerald:

They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep:
And Bahram, that great Hunter--the Wild Ass
Stamps o'er his Head, and he lies fast asleep.

Literal:

I resolve daily that at dusk I shall repent
For a night with a cup full of wine spent.
In the presence of flowers, my resolve simply went
In such company, I only regret that I ever resolved to repent.

Meaning:

Every morn I decide to repent at night
For embracing the joys of heart and sight
Yet every night, what seems right
With all my might, embrace delight.

Fitzgerald:

German:

An jedem Tag nehm' ich mir vor aufs neue,
Daß ich das Trinken laße und bereue;
Doch nun voll Rosenduft erschienen ist
Der holde Lenz-bereu' ich meine Reue.

Literal:

Khayam, if you are intoxicated with wine, enjoy!
If you are seated with a lover of thine, enjoy!
In the end, the Void the whole world employ
Imagine thou art not, while waiting in line, enjoy!

Meaning:

In life devote yourself to joy and love
Behold the beauty of the peaceful dove
Those who live, in the end must all perish
Live as if you are already in heavens above.

Fitzgerald:

And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press,
End in the Nothing all Things end in--Yes-
Then fancy while Thou art, Thou art but what
Thou shalt be--Nothing--Thou shalt not be less.

German:

Chajjam, solang du trunken bist von Wein, sei
        glücklich-
Solang im Schoße dir ein Mädelein, sei glücklich-
Und da der Dinge Ende ist das Nichts,
So bilde, daß du nichts bist, stets die ein! sei
        glücklich!

Literal:

O friend, for the morrow let us not worry
This moment we have now, let us not hurry
When our time comes, we shall not tarry
With seven thousand-year-olds, our burden carry.

Meaning:

O hark, let us not think of the morrow
Cherish this moment, far from sorrow
Life is a temporal gift that we borrow
Whether dead for ages, or leave tomorrow.

Fitzgerald:

Ah! my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
To-day of past Regrets and future Fears
To-morrow?--Why, To-morrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years.

German:

Komm, Freund, wir wollen nicht sorgen um morgen,
Wir halten als Beute das Gute von heute geborgen.
Verlaßen wir morgen dann dies alte Gasthaus die Welt,
So werden wir Allen, die vor uns bewohnt dieses Rathaus, gesellt.

Literal:

In childhood we strove to go to school,
Our turn to teach, joyous as a rule
The end of the story is sad and cruel
From dust we came, and gone with winds cool.

Meaning:

Pursuing knowledge in childhood we rise
Until we become masterful and wise
But if we look through the disguise
We see the ties of worldly lies.

Fitzgerald:

German:

Zum Meister ging ich einst- das war die Jugendzeit-
Dann hab ich mich der eigenen Meisterschaft gefreut.
Und wollt ihr wissen, was davon das Ende ist?
Den Staubgeborenen hat wie Staub der Wind zerstreut.

Literal:

At dawn came a calling from the tavern
Hark drunken mad man of the cavern
Arise; let us fill with wine one more turn
Before destiny fills our cup, our urn.

Meaning:

Early one morning I heard an angelic chime
Bringing news of a loving and joyous clime
Pursuit of the unimportant is the worst crime
Live in joy & love before the end of your time.

Fitzgerald:

Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky
I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry,
"Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup
Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry."

German:

Eine Stimme scholl morgens zu mir aus der Schenke:
Steh' auf närr'scher Schwärmer' Dein Heil bedenke
Füll', ehe das Mass unsres Schicksals gefüllt ist,
Bei uns noch das Mass mit edlem Getränke!

Literal:

If my coming were up to me, I’d never be born
And if my going were on my accord, I’d go with scorn
Isn’t it better that in this world, so old and worn
Never to be born, neither stay, nor be away torn?

Meaning:

Why was I given life? Why was my seed ever sown?
Why having to leave all alone with moan and groan?
If the universal wisdom received mine on loan
I’d never be born, stay or leave, let it be known.

Fitzgerald:

Indeed, the idols I have loved so long
Have done my Credit in Men's Eye much Wrong:
Have drown'd my Honour in a shallow Cup,
And sold my Reputationfor a Song.

German:

Zu Fasten fühlt‘ ich und zu Gebet mich jüngst
        gedrängt und dachte: vielleicht
Wird nun das ewige Heil von mir, nach dem ich
        seit lang mich gesehnt, erreicht;
Allein ein Windhauch hat das Gebet alsbald Mir
        auf den Lippen verweht.
Ein halber Weinschluck, eh‘ich‘s gedacht, mein
        Fasten all zu nichte gemacht.

Literal:

When the canary made its way to the field
Found the rose and wine smiling, kneeled,
In tongues its message in my ear it thus reeled
Hark, no moment in time did twice yield.

Meaning:

I watched the birds on nature’s stage
Playful, in flight, page after page
Thus opened the doors of my cage
& learnt each moment to fully engage.

Fitzgerald:

German:

Eine Nachtigall, die trunken zu dem Garten flog ,
Wo ein Rosenkelch über den anderen sich bog,
Raunte ins Ohr mir: Erfaße das Glück
Des Lebens im Fluge: es kommt nicht zurück.

Literal:

Heaven is incomplete without a heavenly romance
Let a glass of wine be my present circumstance
Take what is here now, let go of a promised chance
A drumbeat is best heard from a distance.

Meaning:

A future fantasy is no more than vain hope
With wishful minds for which we grope
I’d rather improve my current scope
To an upward trend from a downward slope

Fitzgerald:

"How sweet is mortal Sovranty!"--think some:
Others--"How blest the Paradise to come!"
Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest;
Oh, the brave Music of a distant Drum!

German:

Du sprichst mir von Huris, vom Paradiese,
Von Eden lusterfüllter goldner Wiese.
Geh, nimm den Pfennig hin und laß mich gehn-
Von ferne nur hört sich die Trommel schön.

Literal:

The day the stallion of time was tamed and trained
Venus and Jupiter were adorned and stained
This life for us was allotted and ordained
This was not our will; were thus chained and restrained.

Meaning:

Same hands that formed Venus and Sun
And wove the fabric that makes time run
Same hands brought us here, and when done
Will leave behind dust, as if we were none.

Fitzgerald:

German:

Seit das Himmelsroß läuft auf goldenen Pfaden,
Seit Jupiter leuchtet zusammt den Plejaden,
War unser Schicksal beschloßen im Himmelsrat,
Ist's unsere Schuld, wenn wir es machen zur Tat?