5 Mehr 1405
Quatrain 34 of 75
“Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn
My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn:
And Lip to Lip it murmur'd—"While you live,
Drink!—for once dead you never shall return."”
Reflection · Autumn 1405
In autumn the earthen bowl's murmur takes on a different frequency. While you live — in Mehr and Aban this feels shorter than it did in spring. The bowl has been brought to the lip many times this year; the vintage is lower; the whisper is more urgent. Once dead you never shall return — autumn makes this land in the body rather than just the mind. The season is demonstrating it in every tree and garden.
Drink — what remains. The bowl is not empty. The wine is not gone. The living condition that allows the drinking is still present, in autumn, in the amber afternoon. The bowl's secret is available to you right now. Lip to Lip. The murmur is still audible.