Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fâilâtün fâilâtün fâilâtün fâilün (remel). The pattern of this ghazal is not written in the edition; we read it as remel.

Dolsa ‘âlem tañ degül dûd-ı siyâhumdan benüm
Mihr görmen zerrece gün yüzlü mâhumdan benüm
Niçe pinhân eyleyem ol dilbere ‘âşıkluğum
Pür-durur dîvârı şehrüñ âh şâhumdan benüm
Devlet-i ‘ışkıyla pâyem bir makâma irdi kim
Şânumı anlar görenler ‘izz ü câhumdan benüm
Hâk-i pây-i yâr tâcum kûy-i dilber mesnedüm
Reşk ider Cemşîd ü Cem taht ü külâhumdan benüm
Hayl-i ‘ışkı şâh-râh-ı gamda kılsam germ-rev
Çeşm-i encüm kuhl ider gerd-i sipâhumdan benüm
‘Avnîyâ bir hâle irdüm derd-i hecr-i yâr ile
‘İbret alur niçeler hâl-i tebâhumdan benüm

In English

1. It is no wonder if the world fills with the smoke of my black sigh; from my sun-faced moon I see not a mote of love (or of sun).

2. How shall I hide my love for that heart-stealer? The walls of the city are full of the sighs I heave because of that king of mine.

3. Through the state (fortune) of his love my rank has reached such a station that those who see me know my glory from my honour and position.

4. The dust of the beloved's feet is my crown, the heart-stealer's street my throne; Jamshid and Cem envy my throne and my cap.

5. Should I set the army of love marching swiftly on the highway of grief, the eyes of the stars would take the dust of my troops as kohl.

6. O Avnî, with the pain of separation from the beloved I have come to such a state that many take warning from my ruined condition.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

All six couplets end with the redif "benüm" (my, mine), and in every couplet the lover speaks of himself: his sigh, his love, his rank, his throne, his army, his state. The rhyme falls on the syllable "-âhumdan" of the words "siyâhumdan, mâhumdan, şâhumdan, câhumdan, külâhumdan, sipâhumdan, tebâhumdan", and the couplets are measured in remel. The third, fourth and fifth couplets form one of the passages in the divan where the language of sovereignty is used most intensely.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The opening couplet rests on a double meaning. "Mihr" means both love and sun. In the first reading, because the lover sees not a mote of love from his moon-like beloved, the black smoke of his sigh fills the world. In the second reading shown by Doğan, the smoke of the sigh covers the sky and turns day into night; at night the sun is not seen, and the beloved's moon-like face appears.

The second couplet rests on a custom. As Doğan explains, lovers used to write words such as "âh", "vâh" and "âh mine'l-aşk" (alas for love) on the gates and walls of the city as a sign of the suffering they endured, and to hang them up as panels; the word "âh" was sometimes drawn in the shape of two weeping eyes. When the walls of the city are full of the lover's sighs, love can no longer be hidden.

The third and fourth couplets complete each other. Love is a powerful state, and in this state the lover has reached the highest station, sovereignty; the words "devlet", "pâye", "makâm", "şân", "'izz ü câh" are the language of a state's organisation. The crown of this sovereignty is the dust of the beloved's feet and its throne her street; the lover counts as his crown the dust he wants always on his head, and as his throne the street he does not want to leave. The kings of Persian mythology, Cem, who is said to have discovered wine, and Jamshid, with whom he is sometimes confused, envy this throne. The fifth couplet is a scene of campaign: when the army of love marches swiftly along the road of grief, the dust rising from its feet goes up to the sky and the stars use it as kohl for their eyes. That a ruler who led real campaigns should set the army of love marching gives this couplet a particular liveliness. The last couplet, however, is the other face of all this sovereignty: ruined by the pain of separation, the lover has fallen into a state that serves as a warning to others.

Bibliography

  • Fâtih Sultan Mehmed (Avnî), Fâtih Dîvânı ve Şerhi / Dīwān of Sultan Mehmed II with Commentary, ed. Muhammet Nur Doğan, English trans. Michael D. Sheridan, 3rd ed., Istanbul: Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı, 2023, poem 51, pp. 383-385 (manuscript: Millet, Ali Emîrî Manzum 305, fol. 16b). https://ekitap.yek.gov.tr/urun/fatih-divani-ve-serhi--ucuncu-baski-_794.aspx

Online sources