Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Kâinata nizam veren kutup sultanı sen oldun
Gayıp ricâl mahiyetinde sayebanı sen oldun
Yardımcılar zuhur olup bir mahalle cem oldular
Cümlesi rey verdi sana, mehribanı sen oldun
Peyik hazreti bağladı nusret kılıcın beline
Adüyû düşmanların sahib kıranı sen oldun
Mustafa Fazl-ı Kemâl’in ömrüne ermesin zevâl
Bir günün bin olsun cihanın canı sen oldun
Bu halk zulmette kalmış iken çakırdın aydınlığa
Dünyanın şem’i çırağı mahi tabanı sen oldun
Eski dünya revnak tuttu yeniden buldu hayat
Cumhuriyet devrinin semavati sen oldun
Kâfire şecaat gösterip bir hamlede kahreyledin
İslâm mü’min kardeşlerin ümid inanı sen oldun
Gazilik kazandın âlemde ismin oldu nâmıdâr
Rûyi zemin halifesi kâşifi bürhanı sen oldun
Vezirlerin Gâzi İsmet, Dilâver Fevzi Paşa
Bunların sırrı mahremi yarı ihvanı sen oldun
Meclisi mebusanın adâlettir kararı
Cümle nasın aklı fikri nutku lisanı sen oldu
İmar edüp her diyara tren hattın yürüttün
Her uzaklar yakın ıklım sayebanı sen oldun
Senin bu eserini çarkı devran unutmaz
Her maddenin aslı yâni göfer kânı sen oldun
Aşık FEDAYİ beyit eder zamanın önderine
Bu asrın hükümdarı sahip zamanı sen oldun

In English

1. You became the sultan-pole who gives order to the universe; among the hidden saints you became their canopy and protector.

2. The helpers appeared and gathered in one place; they all gave you their vote, you became their compassionate friend.

3. The exalted messenger girded the sword of victory at your waist; against the enemies you became the sovereign favoured by fortune.

4. May no decline come to the life of Mustafa Kemal, he of virtue and perfection; may one day of yours be a thousand, you became the soul of the world.

5. While this people was left in darkness you called it to the light; you became the candle, the lamp and the shining moon of the world.

6. The old world gained splendour and found life anew; you became the sky of the age of the Republic.

7. You showed valour against the infidel and crushed him in one charge; you became the rein of hope of your Muslim, believing brothers.

8. You won the title of Gazi, your name became famous in the world; you became the vicegerent of the face of the earth, the discoverer of proofs.

9. Your viziers are Gazi İsmet and the valiant Fevzi Pasha; you became their confidant, their intimate, their friend and brother.

10. The decision of the Assembly of Deputies is justice; you became the mind, the thought, the speech and the tongue of all people.

11. You built up every land and ran your railway lines; you became the one who brings every distance near, the canopy of the climes.

12. The turning wheel of fortune will not forget this work of yours; you became the origin of every substance, that is, the mine of jewels.

13. The minstrel Fedâî recites couplets to the leader of the age: you became the sovereign of this century, the master of the time.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem consists of thirteen couplets and is built in the pattern of a ghazal: the two lines of the opening couplet and the second lines of the following couplets end with the redif "... sen oldun" (you became), and the rhyme rests on the sound "-ânı" in words such as "sultanı, sayebanı, mehribanı, kıranı, canı, lisanı, kânı". In the tenth couplet the redif is printed as "sen oldu"; this must be a slip in the transmission. The syllable counts of the lines are not regular and the poem does not fit a particular aruz pattern. The pen name appears in the last couplet in the form "Aşık Fedayi". In the source the poem is the first of three poems given under the heading "Examples of those written for Atatürk, on the World War and on Amasya". Cafer Özdemir also notes that the divan contains poems on Atatürk and on Amasya.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The most striking feature of the poem is that it turns to the language of Sufism and of Alevi-Bektashi faith to praise Mustafa Kemal. In the first couplet he is the "sultan-pole" who gives order to the universe and the protector of the "hidden saints". As Özdemir explains, in Sufism the pole stands at the top of the hierarchy of saints, followed by the three, the seven, the forty and the three hundred; the gathering of the "helpers" who give him their vote in the second couplet also evokes this hidden council of saints. The poet thus places a statesman in the highest station of his own world of faith. In the fourth couplet the phrasing "Mustafa Fazl-ı Kemâl" sets the words "fazl" (virtue) and "kemâl" (perfection) inside the name; this is a double entendre.

The second half of the poem turns to concrete events. The title of Gazi, the mention of İsmet and Fevzi Pashas as "viziers", the justice of the Assembly, the "age of the Republic" and the railway lines laid across the country are listed. The pattern of the "eulogy of the sultan" in divan poetry is here applied to the founder of the Republic and to his reforms. These details suggest that the poem was composed after the proclamation of the Republic, in the years when İsmet Pasha headed the government; its exact date is not given in the sources.

Bibliography

Online sources