Quatrain 9
Quatrain 9 of 75
“But come with old Khayyam, and leave the Lot
Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot:
Let Rustum lay about him as he will,
Or Hatim Tai cry Supper—heed them not.”
Reflection · Summer
Come with old Khayyam. Not with the kings, not with the heroes — with the old tent-maker from Nishapur, the one who studied stars and solved equations and poured wine and had nothing to conquer. Let Rustum lay about him as he will. Let Hatim Tai cry his generosity to the empty air. Heed them not.
In summer this invitation is perfect. The heroes are being heroic without you. The epic is proceeding without your participation. There is a strip of grass between the desert and the sown world, and it belongs to no one, and in the long summer afternoon it is the best address available. Old Khayyam is already there, patient and amused. Come with him. Leave the lot of Kaikobad forgot. The light is perfect right now and there is nothing that needs to be conquered today.