12 Esfand 1404
Quatrain 39 of 75
“How long, how long, in infinite Pursuit
Of This and That endeavour and dispute?
Better be merry with the fruitful Grape
Than sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit.”
Reflection · Winter 1404
In winter the fruitful grape is wine — it has been transformed, the summer harvest now stored, the fruit's fruitfulness preserved in liquid form against the winter. How long, how long in infinite pursuit — winter asks this from the perspective of a full year's worth of pursuing. The merry available from the winter grape is quieter than the summer merry but real.
Better be merry — even now. The bitterness of the fruit that wasn't, the emptiness of the nothing that was — these are winter's occupational hazards. Khayyam prescribes merriness not as denial but as medicine. The grape is still here. The fire is still lit. The how long, how long has an answer: as long as necessary. And also: maybe this is long enough.