The Rubaiyat of a Huffy Husband

A long-married husband expects domestic peace, but a Christmas gift sends his household into comic turmoil. When his wife becomes captivated by an ancient book of Persian quatrains, she spends her days reading, quoting, and composing verse, leaving her husband convinced that a long-dead poet has stolen her affection.

Told in playful, rhyming stanzas, his lament turns ordinary marital irritation into grand tragedy. He compares his neglected state to exile, seeks advice from fellow husbands at his clubs, and finds that no one can offer a remedy—or even take his misery seriously. His increasingly dramatic efforts to reclaim his wife’s attention are met with more quotations, philosophical pronouncements, and cheerful devotion to her literary obsession.

Witty, affectionate, and gently satirical, this domestic comedy pokes fun at jealousy, fads, marriage, and the irresistible power of a favorite book. Listeners will enjoy the husband’s melodramatic complaints, especially as his dignified sorrow collides with the everyday absurdity of being ignored for poetry.