5 Shahrivar 1405
Quatrain 3 of 75
“And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before
The Tavern shouted—"Open then the Door.
You know how little while we have to stay,
And, once departed, may return no more."”
Reflection · Summer 1405
The cock crows in summer too, though in the deep heat of Mordad the dawn feels almost redundant — the night never quite got dark, the air never quite cooled. Those who stand before the Tavern in summer are burning with the anxiety of the year's mid-point: is this it? Is this the thing we were supposed to be doing?
Once departed, may return no more. In summer this line falls like a fact so familiar it has become wallpaper. You know this. Everyone knows this. Khayyam is not telling you something you don't know — he is making sure you are actually holding the knowledge and not merely storing it. The crowd at the tavern door is every person who has ever stood at the edge of their own life and hesitated. Summer asks: are you still hesitating? The door is not locked. The cock has already crowed.