Quatrain 19
Quatrain 19 of 75
“And this delightful Herb whose tender Green
Fledges the River's Lip on which we lean—
Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows
From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen!”
Reflection · Spring
Lean upon it lightly. This is tenderness, not warning. The green herb along the riverbank is delightful, genuinely delightful, and Khayyam wants you to lean on it and enjoy it. But lightly. Because of what it might be. From what once lovely Lip it springs — the grass on the riverbank grew from the dissolved loveliness of everything that has lain in this ground. Not as metaphor but as fact: matter cycles, beauty reconstitutes itself from the elements of previous beauty.
When you lean on the spring riverbank, you are resting on a bed of history so intimate it should give you pause. The tenderness of the warning is everything. Lean, yes. Lean and enjoy the green and the water and the spring air. But lean with the knowledge of what you are leaning on. Touch it with the kind of care you would give to something that was once a face.