27 Tir 1405
Quatrain 38 of 75
“One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One moment, of the Well of Life to taste—
The Stars are setting, and the Caravan
Starts for the dawn of Nothing—Oh, make haste!”
Reflection · Summer 1405
The Stars setting in summer are invisible to the sun but setting nonetheless — the universe proceeding through its Khayyam-calculated courses, the caravan readying itself in the warm dark that summer sometimes forgets exists. One moment. Even in summer — one moment is all you get, and the summer gives you a very long version of it, the longest days, the most available Well. But still: a moment, a tasting, a caravan that starts regardless.
The dawn of Nothing is so far away on a summer morning that making haste seems unnecessary. This is exactly when Khayyam inserts the verse. The caravan is starting now, even now, even in summer.