Quatrain 47
Quatrain 47 of 75
“And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press,
End in the Nothing all Things end in—Yes—
Then fancy while Thou art, Thou art but what
Thou shalt be—Nothing—Thou shalt not be less.”
Reflection · Winter
Thou shalt not be less. This is the most consoling thing in the Rubaiyat, hidden inside its bleakest acknowledgment. Yes — everything ends in Nothing. The wine, the lip, the love, the conversation, the life itself. All of it ends in Nothing. Yes. And: nothing you become after will be less than what you are now. Nothing cannot diminish. It simply is the absence of being.
While Thou art — this conditional is doing enormous work. While you are, you are everything you are. The wine is the wine, fully itself. In winter this verse is the most honest companion. The Nothing is most visible. And Khayyam says: yes. And also: not less.