16 Mehr 1405
Quatrain 45 of 75
“But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with me
The Quarrel of the Universe let be:
And, in some corner of the Hubbub coucht,
Make Game of that which makes as much of Thee.”
Reflection · Autumn 1405
The Quarrel of the Universe in autumn is most insistent — the dying leaves making their argument about impermanence. Leave the Wise to wrangle about it. Come to the corner. Make Game — in autumn this requires more choice than it does in summer. The game of autumn is tinged with something that the summer game was not: the knowledge that the Hubbub is quieting.
Couched in some corner of the autumn Hubbub, making game of a universe that is making game of you, is the exact posture Khayyam recommends for the season. Not defiance exactly — more like the mutual acknowledgment between two players of a game that neither controls.