SpringMonday, June 1, 2026
11 Khordad 1405
Quatrain 67 of 75
“Then to the Lip of this poor earthen Urn
I lean'd, the Secret of my Life to learn:
And Lip to Lip it murmur'd—"While you live
Drink!—for, once dead, you never shall return."”
Omar Khayyamtr. Edward FitzGerald, 1859
Reflection · Spring 1405
Another clay vessel, another lip-to-lip conversation, another murmur of the same secret — Khayyam returns to this well because the secret is always worth learning again. While you live. Drink. Once dead, you never shall return. In spring this verse is heard as invitation. The earthen urn is newly found, and the leaning to its lip is the first leaning. While you live — which is now, which is spring, the most vivid now available.
The secret is simple. The vessel holds it exactly. Lean in. Let the clay speak.