Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: eleven-syllable syllabic metre

Adım adım dostu ettim ziyaret
Keremler gânisin eyle hidayet
Sevindir kulunu ülke vilâyet
Ağlatma kulunu hakka bağışla
Ülke vilâyetin haznesi sensin
Sevindir kulunu yüzleri gülsün
Seyrettim âlemi ülkede birsin
Ağlatma kulunu hakka bağışla
Seyrettim âlemi mislin bulunmaz
Seni seven âşık her dem yorulmaz
Sen merhem sürmezsen yarem onulmaz
Ağlatma kulunu hakka bağışla
Yarelerim göz göz oldu gaynaştı
Aşkına düşeli dalgamız aştı
Bunca âşık sâdık destinden içti
Ağlatma kulunu hakka bağışla
Gördüm cemâlini arzumuz nurdur
Dostun muhabbeti gönülde sırdır
Fakir Derviş Edna’m kapında kuldur
Ağlatma kulunu hakka bağışla

In English

1. Step by step I visited the Friend; you are the mine of generosity, grant guidance. Gladden your servant, O saint of the land; do not make your servant weep, forgive him for God's sake.

2. You are the treasury of the land's sainthood; gladden your servant, let faces smile. I surveyed the world; in this land you are the only one; do not make your servant weep, forgive him for God's sake.

3. I surveyed the world, your equal is not found; the lover who loves you never tires. If you do not apply the balm my wound will not heal; do not make your servant weep, forgive him for God's sake.

4. My wounds have opened and festered; since I fell into your love our wave has overflowed. So many faithful lovers have drunk from your hand; do not make your servant weep, forgive him for God's sake.

5. I saw your face, our wish is light; the companionship of the Friend is a secret in the heart. Poor Derviş Edna is a servant at your door; do not make your servant weep, forgive him for God's sake.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The chain that links the quatrains is the most marked feature of this medetname: the last rhyme word of one quatrain is taken up again in the first line of the next ("vilâyet, ülke vilâyetin", "birsin, seyrettim âlemi", "onulmaz, yarelerim"). The article notes that folk poetry uses this technique to make memorising easier, and classes the poem as a medetname, a poem asking for help. The last line of every quatrain is the refrain "Ağlatma kulunu hakka bağışla" (do not make your servant weep, forgive him for God's sake); the first three lines rhyme as "ziyaret, hidayet, vilâyet", "sensin, gülsün, birsin", "bulunmaz, yorulmaz, onulmaz", "gaynaştı, aştı, içti", "nurdur, sırdır, kuldur". The metre of the five quatrains is the eleven-syllable syllabic measure. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the closing quatrain as "Fakir Derviş Edna'm".

Meaning and Figures of Speech

A medetname is a poem that asks a pir or saint for help and intercession. Derviş Edna opens by saying that he visited the Friend "step by step" and praises him as the "mine of generosity" and "the treasury of the land's sainthood". The word vilayet here means both a governed territory and sainthood; the poet sees the one he praises as the spiritual protector of a whole country. Who was visited is not stated in the source; since Derviş Edna is known to have travelled often to his guide Kul Fakir the poem may have been addressed to him, but this is our conjecture.

The second half of the poem dwells on the image of the wound. The lover's wound has opened and festered; only the beloved can apply the balm. In folk poetry the beloved being both the one who opens the wound and the one who heals it is a familiar pattern; here it is turned to the guide. The line "so many faithful lovers have drunk from your hand" brings to mind both the cup (dolu) offered in the cem and the cup of love. In the final quatrain the poet's calling himself "poor" and "a servant at your door" is the established expression of humility towards the guide in Alevi-Bektashi poetry.

Bibliography

Online sources