Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâ‘îlün Mefâ‘îlün Mefâ‘îlün Mefâ‘îlün

‘Aceb var mı cihân içre benim tek bir cefâ görmüş
Dil-ârâdan vefâ bekler iken her dem ezâ görmüş
Nedendür bu felek devr eylemez aṣlâ merâm üzre
Ya yoḳsa hiç bulunmaz mı feleklerden ṣafâ görmüş
Yolunda cân nis̱âr itsem baña raḥm eylemez dil-ber
Cefâsın çekmeye her dem bu miskîni sezâ görmüş
Dil-ârâ ẓulm ü cevrin ‘âşık-ı nâlânına eyler
‘Aṭâ vü lüṭf u iḥsânın raḳîb-i bed-liḳâ görmüş
Eyâ Kâmil niçün ṣabr eylemezsin cevrine yâriñ
Ḳadîmdir ki bulunmaz hiç güzellerden vefâ görmüş

In English

1. I wonder, is there anyone in the world who has seen cruelty as I have; hoping always for faithfulness from the heart-adorner, he has seen only torment.

2. Why does this wheel of fate never turn as one wishes; or is there no one at all who has seen delight from the heavens?

3. Were I to scatter my soul on her road, the heart-stealer would show me no pity; she has deemed this wretch fit to bear her cruelty at every moment.

4. The heart-adorner inflicts her tyranny and torment on her moaning lover; her gifts, her kindness and her favours are what the ill-faced rival has seen.

5. O Kâmil, why do you not bear the beloved's torment with patience; since of old there has been no one who has seen faithfulness from beauties.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This five-couplet ghazal is written in the "mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün" pattern; it is the only poem among Kâmil Efendi's to use this pattern throughout. The redif is "görmüş" (has seen), and the rhyme is the sound "-â": "cefâ, ezâ, ṣafâ, sezâ, bed-liḳâ, vefâ". The pen name appears in the last couplet. Avni Erdemir gives the text of the ghazal without a separate assessment. To whom and when it was written is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal opens with a complaint, and the target of the complaint shifts from couplet to couplet. In the opening couplet the lover asks whether anyone in the world has seen as much cruelty as he has; from the beloved from whom he hoped for faithfulness he has seen only torment. In the second couplet the blame is laid on the wheel of fate: it does not turn as one wishes, and no one has seen delight from the heavens. In the third and fourth couplets beloved and rival are compared. The lover scatters his soul on the beloved's road, but she deems him fit for cruelty; her favour, gifts and kindness go to the ill-faced rival. The contrasts between "cefâ" (cruelty) and "vefâ" (faithfulness), "‘aṭâ" (gift) and "ẓulm" (tyranny) form the main line of the poem; this observation is ours.

In the last couplet the poet addresses himself and turns the complaint into counsel: since of old no one has seen faithfulness from beauties, so one must bear the beloved's torment with patience. The word "ḳadîm" (of old) states this judgement as a rule. That the redif is "görmüş" ties all the couplets to the language of witness: the lover has seen, fate has shown, the rival has seen. According to Erdemir's general assessment of Kâmil's poems, the pain of separation and the longing for union are their chief themes; this ghazal binds the same theme to counsel of patience.

Bibliography

  • Avni Erdemir, "Amasyalı Abdurrahman Kâmil (Yetkin) Efendi'nin Şairliği ve Türkçe Şiirleri", Amasya İlahiyat Dergisi, 12, June 2019, p. 191, doi:10.18498/amailad.579964. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/amailad/article/579964
  • Mecdîzâde Abdurrahman Kâmil, Divançe, National Library of Turkey, Manuscripts Collection, Yz. A 8993, p. 61 (author's autograph).

Online sources