Dear Jansy,
"( besides, what can we make out of "empires of rhyme, Indies of calculus" in the context of Persian Khayyám - inspite of his having been a poet and an expert mathematician) ?"
Your argument against seems to me to make a good case for - - but it was not my intention to insist on the resemblance I tentatively perceived between the Edsel lines and the Fitzgerald. On the other hand the names Edward Fitzgerald/ Edsel Ford do have a vague resonance.
We know FitzGerald was not a faithful translator
Perhaps not, but I have to admit that as it is for many, this will always be my favorite poem in the English language
Carolyn