Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mef‘ûlü mefâ‘îlü mefâ‘îlü fe‘ûlün

Var sûrı yine faṣl-ı ḫazân kühne bahârıñ
Hep oldı nigârîn-i ḥınâ desti çenârıñ
Üstâd-ı ḳader eyledi zertâr ile bir gül
Ḳâliçe-i sebzîn-i çemen ṭurfe nigârıñ
Mül ḳulḳuli bülbül gül-i ter câm-ı lebâleb
Rindâna nedir lüṭfi bu devr içre bahârıñ
Ḥayrân-ı temâşâ-yı ḫazândır çemen içre
Çıḳmazsa bu faṣl içre n’ola ṣavtı hezârıñ
Añlar ṭarab-ı râh-ı fenâyı gören el-ḥâḳ
Raḳs eyleyerek düşdügini berg-i çenârıñ
Baḳ ṣafvetine faṣl-ı ḫazân ṣûret-i âbıñ
Ṣâf âyine sîne-siy-i tecrîd-i şi‘ârıñ
Berg-efgen olup def‘aten eşcâr görindi
Zer-pâşı ḥabîb-i keremi dest-i kibârıñ
‘Âkif varaḳ-ı sebz-rez-i efşâna yazılmış
Bir başḳa daḫi ‘âlemi var kühne bahârıñ

In English

1. The season of autumn is again the wedding feast of the old spring; the plane tree's hand has become hennaed all over.

2. The master of destiny has made a strange pattern on the green carpet of the meadow with a rose worked in golden threads.

3. The gurgle of wine poured from the flask is the nightingale, the fresh rose is the brimming cup; how fine is the favour of spring to the libertines in this age.

4. (The nightingale) is lost in wonder at the spectacle of autumn in the meadow; what wonder if the nightingale's voice is not heard in this season?

5. Whoever sees the plane leaf fall dancing truly understands the joy of the path of annihilation.

6. Look at the purity of the water's face in the season of autumn: it is the mirror-pure breast of one who has made detachment from the world his rule.

7. The trees, shedding their leaves all at once, appeared like the gold-scattering generous hand of great men. (The reading of the second line is not wholly clear.)

8. Âkif, the old spring has yet another world, written on the gold-sprinkled green leaf of the vine.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a ghazal (gazel) of eight couplets written in the hezec pattern "mef‘ûlü mefâ‘îlü mefâ‘îlü fe‘ûlün" of aruz (quantitative metre). The redif (refrain word) is the genitive suffix "-ıñ"; the rhyme rests on the sound "-âr" in the words "bahâr, çenâr, nigâr, hezâr, şi‘âr, kibâr". "Çenârıñ" is repeated in the fifth couplet, and the phrase "kühne bahârıñ" of the opening couplet in the pen-name couplet. The number is the order of the sample poem in the article by Öntürk and Tunçadam; the poem's number among the ghazals of the divan is not given in the article.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In divan poetry autumn is usually the season of death and ruin. In this ghazal, however, Âkif greets autumn as "the wedding feast of the old spring" and describes it as a festivity. The reddening plane leaves are likened, because of their hand-like shape, to hennaed hands. The meadow is a green carpet on which destiny has embroidered with golden threads. The silence of autumn is interpreted in the same spirit: the nightingale is silent because it is lost in wonder at the sight of autumn. In the fifth and sixth couplets the season takes on a mystical meaning: the leaf that falls dancing teaches the joy of the path of annihilation (fena), the effacement of the self; the clear water is the mirror-pure heart of one who has stripped himself of the world. In the seventh couplet the trees shedding their leaves are likened to generous hands scattering gold. In the pen-name couplet the word "varak" means both a leaf and a page of paper, and "efşân" the gold dust sprinkled on paper; the autumn leaf thus turns into a written page.

Historical Context

Öntürk and Tunçadam say that the theme of the transience of time stands out in Âkif's ghazals; this ghazal treats the same theme with a kind of acceptance rather than pessimism. The date of the ghazal is unknown. For the poet's life, see the article Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi.

Bibliography

  • Tolga Öntürk and Özcan Tunçadam, "Amasyalı 'Îdî-zâde Âkif Mustafa ve Divanı", Hikmet-Akademik Edebiyat Dergisi, 6(12), 2020, pp. 259-281 (text: pp. 279). https://doi.org/10.28981/hikmet.683811

Online sources