17 Khordad 1405
Quatrain 73 of 75
“Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass'd the door of Darkness through,
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too.”
Reflection · Spring 1405
Strange — and Khayyam means it. Genuinely strange. The mathematics are undeniable: every human being who has ever died has passed through the Door of Darkness, and not one has returned to tell us what the road is like on the other side. In spring this verse arrives at the festival table like an uninvited but honest guest. All the previous springs, all the previous revelers who stood in this same garden and felt this same warmth and drank from this same vine. None of them returned. The road they traveled is still undescribed.
Strange, is it not? In spring this strangeness is held lightly.