21 Bahman 1404
Quatrain 19 of 75
“And this delightful Herb whose tender Green
Fledges the River's Lip on which we lean—
Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows
From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen!”
Reflection · Winter 1404
The herb on the river's lip in winter is gone — frost has taken it, or it has retreated underground. The lip of the water is bare and cold. There is nothing to lean on here, which is its own kind of instruction: the leaning season has passed. But under the bare lip, the once lovely lips that made the herb are still there — in the ground, in the water, in the chemistry of the cold soil. They are preparing the next tender green.
Khayyam's lightly lingers in winter as an instruction for the rest of life: hold things the way you would hold grass above a river — with love and without possession, with attention and without grasping. The beautiful things spring from beautiful things. They return to beautiful things. You are briefly in the middle of this exchange. Touch it lightly. Let it be what it is.