The Moving Finger

About this poem

Ghiyath al-Din al-Fath ‘Umar ibn Ibrahim Nisaburi (1048-1131), known as Omar Khayyam, was a Persian mathematician, philosopher, and poet. The title of this poem, “The Moving Finger,” bears the lines of verse 51 of Omar Khayyam’s poem, “The Rubaiyat,” which expresses the notion that whatever one does in life, for ill or for good, is done out of free will; is therefore one’s responsibility, and cannot be altered, for which one must be accounted. The poem draws on this sentiment, and links it with the sixty six books of the Holy Bible, written by a “Moving Finger” under divine inspiration and guidance, beginning with Genesis as Alpha, and ending with Revelation as Omega, directing mankind who must take responsibility for the decisions made and taken in life, affording mankind sixty six proverbial opportunities to “get it right,” with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior as Advocate. The opening lines of Omar Khayyam’s “Rubaiyat” reads as follows: “The Moving Finger writes; and, having written, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancel half a line. Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.” This extended Tanka poem is written as an Inclusio, with the opening and closing stanzas being identical. All having said and done, “The Moving Finger” concludes by uttering a resounding “AMEN.” more »