Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: eleven-syllable syllabic metre

Koyun gibi kurban verdim canımı
Ta ezelden diyner idim ününü
Gördüm cemâlini tutdum yolunu
Tuttum eteğini salmam sanıyom
Ta ezelden böyle çaldı kalemi
Gezdim seyreyledim cümle âlemi
Alnında gördüm levh-i kalemi
Çalındı kalemler bozmaz sanıyor
Çalındı kalemler ervâh-ı âdem
Elham suresidir gönlümde Hüda’m
Bu aşka düşeli ağlarım neden
Aşkına düşeli gülmem sanıyom
Aşkına düşüp de canımdan geçtim
Rahmet deryâsından bâdeni içtim
Bu fâni mülküne çok geldim geçtim
Elest ikrârımdan dönmem sanıyom
Derviş Edna’m bir ikrârda ağlendim
Bir gerçeğin keremine bağlandım
Geldim gittim şu cihanda dolandım
Verildi nasipler yelmem sanıyor

In English

1. Like a sheep I gave my soul in sacrifice; from eternity I used to listen to your voice. I saw your face and took your road; I have taken hold of your skirt, I think I will not let go.

2. From eternity the pen wrote thus; I wandered and surveyed the whole world. On his brow I saw the tablet and the pen; the pens have written, I think they will not undo it.

3. The pens wrote upon the souls of men; in my heart is the sura Elham, my God. Why have I wept since I fell into this love; since I fell into your love, I think I will not laugh.

4. Falling into your love I gave up my life; I drank your wine from the sea of mercy. I have come to this passing realm and gone many times; I think I will not turn back from my pledge of Elest.

5. I, Derviş Edna, have stood firm in one pledge; I have bound myself to the grace of a true one. I came, I went, I wandered this world; the portions have been given, I think I will not waver.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

In the last lines a series of negative verbs is tied to the word "sanıyom" or "sanıyor" (I think): "salmam, bozmaz, gülmem, dönmem, yelmem" (I will not let go, it will not undo, I will not laugh, I will not turn back, I will not waver). The rhymes of the first three lines are built on "canımı, ününü, yolunu", "kalemi, âlemi, kalemi", "âdem, Hüda'm, neden", "geçtim, içtim, geçtim", "ağlendim, bağlandım, dolandım". The lines have eleven syllables, and there are five quatrains. In the closing quatrain the poet says "Derviş Edna'm" (his pen name, or mahlas). The article glosses "levh" as the divine tablet on which human destiny is believed to be written, "eğlenmek" as to stay, and "yelmek" as to turn and give up like the shifting wind.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The fourth quatrain of the nefes is quoted separately in Onar and Işık's article when it describes Derviş Edna's thought. According to the article Derviş Edna was a saint who treated in his deyiş the belief in "changing moulds", the soul's return to the world in different bodies, and in the line "I have come to this passing realm and gone many times" he says plainly that he has come into the world and left it many times. The reference in the same quatrain to the word given at the assembly of Elest also recalls the pledge of witness that is important in Alevi belief.

The other quatrains of the poem dwell on the idea of destiny. The pen wrote from eternity; the tablet and the pen are visible on the beloved's brow; the pens wrote upon the souls of men, and this writing is not undone. The lover surrenders to this writing: he sacrifices his soul like a sheep, does not turn from the road whose skirt he has grasped, weeps since he fell into love. The redif "sanıyom" carries a humble hope instead of a firm oath; the dervish "thinks" he will not turn back, will not undo, will not let go. In the final quatrain binding oneself to a true one, a saint, and the giving out of portions join destiny and choice.

Bibliography

Online sources