Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: eleven-syllable syllabic metre

Geldim elinize gitmek isterim
Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler
Varıp bir menzile yetmek isterim
Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler
Bu aşka düşenler yüğrük atl’olur
Her dem bu cefâya özü katl’olur
Dostlar muhabbetin azı tatl’lur
Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler
Sırrını düşmandan gizleyen vardır
Sinesin bu aşka közleyen vardır
Bizi o tarafta gözleyen vardır
Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler
Gelin bir ikrara beli diyelim
Ariflerin her kelâmın duyalım
Her gelip gittikçe hatır soralım
Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler
Gerçeklerin özü hakka bağlıdır
Aşk elinden sineleri dağlıdır
İzin talep eden Derviş Edna’dır
Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler

In English

1. I came to your land, now I wish to go; let us go, farewell, brothers. I wish to go on and reach a stopping place; let us go, farewell, brothers.

2. Those who fall into this love ride swift horses; at every moment they bear this torment with their whole being. Friends, even a little fellowship is sweet; let us go, farewell, brothers.

3. There are those who hide their secret from the enemy, those who turn their breast to embers with this love; there is one who waits for us on the other side. Let us go, farewell, brothers.

4. Come, let us say "yes" to a pledge, let us hear every word of the wise; each time we come and go let us ask after one another. Let us go, farewell, brothers.

5. The essence of the true ones is bound to God, their breasts are branded by the hand of love. The one who asks leave is Derviş Edna; let us go, farewell, brothers.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The article classes this poem as a mixture of nefes and poem of counsel. The refrain "Biz gidelim hoşça kalın kardeşler" (let us go, farewell, brothers) stands in lines two and four of the first quatrain, while in lines one and three the redif "isterim" (I wish) joins the rhyme "gitmek, yetmek". In the later quatrains the first three lines rhyme among themselves ("atl'olur, katl'olur, tatl'olur", "gizleyen, közleyen, gözleyen" with the redif "vardır", "diyelim, duyalım, soralım", "bağlıdır, dağlıdır, Edna'dır"). All five quatrains are built of eleven-syllable lines. In the final quatrain the poet speaks of himself in the third person: "Derviş Edna'dır" (his pen name, or mahlas).

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The poem sets up a scene of farewell. Leaving the land where he has been a guest, the dervish asks leave of the company and binds every quatrain with the words "let us go, farewell". This form suggests a parting song sung at the close of a cem or a gathering; the source does not say in what setting the nefes was performed, so this is our conjecture. The life story told in the article fits the theme: Derviş Edna travelled back and forth to Merzifon to see his guide Kul Fakir, and the companies who came from Gümüşhacıköy to see him crossed hard winter roads.

Counsel is woven into the farewell. Those who fall into love ride "swift horses", but this speed goes together with bearing torment. Keeping one's secret from the enemy is one of the basic precepts of Alevi-Bektashi ethics; the line "there is one who waits for us on the other side" hints that the journey also reaches towards another stopping place, the union after death. In the fourth quatrain "saying yes to a pledge" recalls both the "yes" given at the assembly of Elest and the pledge of entry into the path. In the last stanza the breasts of the true ones branded by love are the familiar image of the burning heart in folk poetry.

Bibliography

Online sources