# XXI explained — The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

> Chapter companion for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám by Omar Khayyám.

## What happens

The speaker urges the beloved to fill the cup and drink, as it clears the mind of past regrets and future fears, emphasizing the uncertainty of tomorrow and the vastness of time.

## Themes in this chapter

### Carpe Diem

The call to fill the cup and drink now, dismissing past and future concerns.

### Mortality and Transience

The speaker contemplates the possibility of being gone tomorrow, referencing the vast span of 'Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years.'

## Character check-ins

### Omar Khayyám

Speaker of the quatrain, addressing the beloved.

## Key lines

> Ah, my Belovéd, fill the Cup that clears Today of Past Regrets and Future Fears

Oh my beloved, pour the wine that frees the present moment from the weight of past mistakes and anxiety about what is to come.

_The cup of wine symbolizes liberation from temporal concerns._

> Tomorrow I may be Myself with Yesterday’s Sev’n Thousand Years.

By tomorrow, I might be gone, joining the countless souls of the past seven thousand years.

_A reflection on mortality and the insignificance of individual life in the face of deep time._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/xxi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters