Last night I had a talk with my mind
I have some things to ask you, I said
You, who are the base of every possible knowledge,
Should show me my way
I'm fed up with living, what should I do?
Try to stand it for a few more years, it said.
What is, I asked, what is that what we call "living"?
A dream, it said, a few visions.
What does having houses and possessions mean?
In order to have some pleasure for a short while,
Suffering for ages, it said.
What kind of people are these tyrants, I asked.
Wolves, dogs, jackals and so on, it said.
What do you say to those men, I asked;
Cowards, fools, corrupts, it said.
That crazy heart of mine, I said,
When is it going to smarten up?
After its ears are pulled for a little bit more, it said.
What do you say to these sayings of Khayyam1, I asked.
I'd say he lined them one after another,
And confabbed, it said.
When I don't exist, these roses, these cypresses don't exist
Scarlet lips, fragrant wines don't exist
Mornings, evenings, joys and sorrows don't exist
The world exists as long as I think; if I don't exist, neither does it.
1. Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) was a Persian polymath, scholar, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential thinkers of the Middle Ages. He's famous for his Rubaiyat.