28 Esfand 1404
Quatrain 55 of 75
“The Vine had struck a Fibre; which about
If clings my Being—let the Sufi flout;
Of my Base Metal may be filed a Key,
That shall unlock the Door he howls without.”
Reflection · Winter 1404
In winter the vine is bare — the fibre is still attached, the structure still gripping the wall, but the growth has retreated and the cling is revealed as the fundamental thing: the vine's hold on the wall persists through every stripping. My Being — clinging to the grape even in winter when the grape is only memory and the vine is only skeleton. The Sufi can flout; the attachment is not seasonal.
That shall unlock the Door he howls without — in winter the Door is most worth opening. The warmth inside, the wine, the company. And the howling outside is most audible — the cold ascetic, the principled denier. Let him howl. The key is base metal. The Door is open.