2 Mordad 1405
Quatrain 44 of 75
“The mighty Mahmud, the victorious Lord,
That all the misbelieving and black Horde
Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the Soul
Scatters and slays with his enchanted Sword.”
Reflection · Summer 1405
In summer the Horde is scattered but not absent — the fears of the year's passing, the sorrows of what has already gone, still exist even in the height of abundance. The mighty Mahmud in summer is sometimes asked to fight what feels like a small skirmish: the afternoon anxiety, the mid-year uncertainty. The enchanted Sword in summer is the summer wine at evening, the cup that clears the day's residue and allows the evening to be the evening.
Khayyam gives the verse even to summer because the Horde never fully disbands. It will reconstitute itself in autumn. The sword needs to be kept clean and ready.