Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün
Dilberi celb eylemekse niyyetiñ ‘âşıḳ eger
Siḥr ü efsûn zaḥmetiyle ẕâtıña virme żarâr
Bul anı kim yâri celb aġyârı hem tefrîk ider
Bir mü’es̱s̱ir nüsḫadır kim nâmı anıñ sîm ü zer
Ḳanḳı maḥbûba virürseñ sîne bendin tîz çözer
Dil-rübâyı âġûş-ı aġyârda gördüm seḥer
[Ḥu]bb-ı nâza mübtelâ serḫôş-veş meh-veş batar
Sîm ü zer almış eline bûse’i ḳandan ṣatar
Bir mü’es̱s̱ir nüsḫadır ki nâmı anıñ sîm ü zer
Ḳanḳı maḥbûba virürseñ sîne bendin tîz çözer
La‘lini ṣunmış raḳîbiñ aġzına aldım ḫaber
Nâz u istiġnâ ile âhû gözün ṭurmaz süzer
Kîsesinden aḳçeniñ cevdetlisin bir bir seçer
Bir mü’es̱s̱ir nüsḫadır ki nâmı anıñ sîm ü zer
Ḳanġı maḥbûba virürseñ sîne bendin tîz çözer
Tîr-i âhımdan ‘aceb dil-ber niçün itmez ḫaẕer
Pîş-i aġyâre oturmuş ḳatlime fermân yazar
Bed-raḳîbân ceybine çün ṣurre-i zerrîn atar
Bir mü’es̱s̱ir nüsḫadır ki nâmı anıñ sîm ü zer
Ḳanḳı maḥbûba virürseñ sîne bendin tîz çözer
Eşk-i çeşmim ṭurmayup cûlar gibi dâ’im aḳar
Gül‘iẕârıñ nâr-ı hecri her nefes sînem yaḳar
Pâresin aḫẕ eyleyüp illerle ol keyfin çatar
Bir mü’es̱s̱ir nüsḫadır ki nâmı anıñ sîm ü zer
Ḳanġı maḥbûba virürseñ sîne bendin tîz çözer
Rişte-i taḥrîre Kâmil sîm ü zerle dür düzer
O cefâ-pîşe eger luṭf eyleyüp itse naẓar
Terk idüp aġyârı derḥâl sûyuma eyler güzer
Bir mü’es̱s̱ir nüsḫadır ki nâmı anıñ sîm ü zer
Ḳanġı maḥbûba virürseñ sîne bendin tîz çözer
In English
1. Lover, if your aim is to draw a heart-stealer to you, do not harm yourself with the toil of sorcery and spells; find the thing that draws the beloved and parts the rivals from her. It is a potent prescription whose name is silver and gold; give it to any beloved and she will loosen the fastening of her bosom at once.
2. At dawn I saw the heart-ravisher in the rivals' embrace; smitten with the love of coquetry, she sinks like a drunkard, like the setting moon; she has taken silver and gold in her hand, and to whom does she sell her kiss? It is a potent prescription whose name is silver and gold; give it to any beloved and she will loosen the fastening of her bosom at once.
3. I have heard that she offered her ruby lips to the rival's mouth; with coquetry and disdain she keeps narrowing her gazelle eyes; she picks out the finest coins from his purse one by one. It is a potent prescription whose name is silver and gold; give it to any beloved and she will loosen the fastening of her bosom at once.
4. Strange that the heart-stealer does not beware of the arrow of my sighs; seated before the rivals, she writes the decree for my execution; for the wicked rivals throw purses of gold into her pocket. It is a potent prescription whose name is silver and gold; give it to any beloved and she will loosen the fastening of her bosom at once.
5. The tears of my eyes flow ceaselessly like streams; the fire of separation from the rose-cheeked one burns my breast at every breath; and she takes the money and makes merry with strangers. It is a potent prescription whose name is silver and gold; give it to any beloved and she will loosen the fastening of her bosom at once.
6. Kâmil strings pearls with silver and gold on the thread of his writing; should that cruel one deign to look, she will leave the rivals at once and come over to my side. It is a potent prescription whose name is silver and gold; give it to any beloved and she will loosen the fastening of her bosom at once.
Literary and Historical Commentary
Structure of the Poem
The poem is a muhammes of six stanzas, that is a musammat whose stanzas each have five lines. It is written in the "fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilün" pattern. The last two lines of every stanza are repeated unchanged; such poems are called refrain or mütekerrir muhammeses. All stanzas rhyme in "-er / -ar": "eger, żarâr, ider", "seḥer, batar, ṣatar" and so on. The pen name appears in the sixth stanza. Because the beginning of the second line of the second stanza could not be read in the manuscript, Avni Erdemir completed it in square brackets as "[Ḥu]bb-ı". In the refrain the spellings "Ḳanḳı" and "Ḳanġı" vary as in the manuscript.
Meaning and Figures of Speech
Erdemir says that in this poem Kâmil Efendi makes a social criticism through the relationship of beloved and rival. Beauties now chase gold and silver; the lover's way to the beloved is neither sorcery nor spells. The most effective remedy, which separates the beloved from the rival and brings her closer to the lover, is gold and silver; given to any beloved, it loosens the fastening of her bosom. The word "nüsḫa" in the refrain means both a charm or prescription and a written text; the poem moves back and forth between these two senses. This observation is ours.
The second, third and fourth stanzas make the scene concrete: at dawn the beloved is in the rivals' arms, offers her lips to the rival, picks the best coins from the purse, while the rivals throw purses of gold into her pocket. The lover, for his part, shoots arrows of sighs and his tears flow like streams. The rival and the stranger, stock types of divan poetry, are drawn here as men who buy hearts with money. In the sixth stanza Kâmil names himself. According to Erdemir, the poet, knowing that gold and silver are the most effective remedy for reaching the beloved, strings gold, silver and pearls on the thread of his writing; if that cruel beloved deigned to look, she would see the pearls strung on this thread, leave the rival and come over to Kâmil's side. The stanza also seems to say that the poet's only wealth is his words; writing adorned with gold and silver is a precious poem set against the rival's purse. This last reading is ours. That the poem should stand in the notebook of a madrasa teacher gives this criticism, written in a mocking tone, a weight of its own.
Bibliography
- Avni Erdemir, "Amasyalı Abdurrahman Kâmil (Yetkin) Efendi'nin Şairliği ve Türkçe Şiirleri", Amasya İlahiyat Dergisi, 12, June 2019, pp. 187-188 (text), p. 173 (on the poem), 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, pp. 20-22 (author's autograph).
Online sources
