29 Dey 1404
Quatrain 72 of 75
“Why, if the Soul can fling the Dust aside,
And naked on the Air of Heaven ride,
Wer't not a Shame—wer't not a Shame for him
In this clay carcass crippled to abide?”
Reflection · Winter 1404
In winter the soul and the clay carcass verse arrives at its winter meaning. Naked on the Air of Heaven ride — this sounds cold in winter. This sounds like the stripping that cold does to everything. The clay carcass in winter is warm, for all its crippling. It holds the wine. It sits by the winter fire and feels the warmth.
Wer't not a shame — perhaps not, in winter. Perhaps the soul in the clay carcass is exactly where it needs to be. Khayyam does not resolve the question in either direction. He holds it open through all four seasons, knowing that the answer depends on what you believe about souls and clay and whether the air of heaven is cold or warm.