21 Dey 1404
Quatrain 64 of 75
“Said one—"Folks of a surly Tapster tell,
And daub his Visage with the Smoke of Hell;
They talk of some strict Testing of us—Pish!
He's a Good Fellow, and 'twill all be well."”
Reflection · Winter 1404
He's a Good Fellow, and 'twill all be well — the pot who said this in summer says it still in winter, but the voice is different. More deliberate. The winter version of 'twill all be well is not naive optimism but a chosen position, held in the face of the cold and the dark.
This is Khayyam's most warmly human pot. Not the wise one, not the philosophical one, not the defiant one. The one who, in the face of all evidence that the world is difficult, maintains that the host is good and the wine will be provided and 'twill all be well. Hold this pot in winter.