Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâîlün mefâîlün mefâîlün mefâîlün

Göňül bu derd-i ‘âlemde zekâvet olmamız yegdir
Merîten ‘âli meşrebde leṭâfet olmamız yegdir

In English

1. O heart, amid the troubles of this world it is better for us to be perceptive and wise. In a lofty disposition, that is, in a noble nature, it is better for us to be graceful and refined. (The word "Merîten" at the beginning of the second line is the article's reading; its meaning is unclear and it has not been rendered.)

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The couplet is the first couplet of a semâî. The semâî is a form composed in aruz and known in saz poetry for its distinctive melody; it is usually written in the hezec pattern "mefâîlün mefâîlün mefâîlün mefâîlün". This couplet fits that pattern; the identification of the metre is ours. The refrain (redif) is "olmamız yegdir"; the rhyme is built on the sounds "-âvet / -âfet" in the words "zekâvet" and "letâfet". Because Hakverdioğlu's article gives only the first verse unit of each poem in the cönk, this couplet is all we have. To whom and on what occasion the poem was composed is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplet is built in the language of counsel addressed to the heart. The poet does not advise fleeing the troubles of the world but possessing "zekâvet" and "letâfet" within them: being perceptive, discerning and refined. The phrase "âlî meşreb", in the language of Sufism and ethics, describes a person of noble nature and generous heart. The plural form "olmamız" (our being) in the refrain directs the counsel not only to the poet himself but also to the listeners; this suits the communal tone of semâîs sung in gatherings. The word "Merîten" at the beginning of the second line is given in the article's reading. It does not correspond to any known word; a word in the old script has probably been read differently. The reading can be corrected only by seeing the cönk itself; for this reason the meaning of the word has not been given in the rendering.

Historical Context

The couplet is on page 55 of the Merzifon Cönkü, introduced by Metin Hakverdioğlu in 2019. Hakverdioğlu reads the poet's pen name as "Berkî(?)", with a question mark. The Amasya poet and musician Yeniçerizâde Berkî Hasan Çelebi (d. 1687-88) bore the same pen name and is known to have played the saz; but there is no record showing that the poem is his, and the attribution is disputed. The full text of the poem is only in the cönk and has not been published. For the problem of the reading and what is known about the two Berkîs, see the page on Berkî.

Bibliography

Online sources