Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mefā‘īlün / mefā‘īlün / mefā‘īlün / mefā‘īlün

Nedir ol ḫancer ile iki ebrū dil-rübālarda
Elā ey dil yüri sen isti‘āzeyle buralarda
Cemāli āfitābına göñül yandırmasaydı māh
Şerār-ı āh-ı ‘āşıḳveş gezer miydi semālarda
Beni derd [ü] elem terk eylemez ḫāk-i reh olsam da
Çü ṭopraḳ ḫāṭırı ṣayar bulınur āşinālarda

In English

1. What are that dagger and those two eyebrows among the heart-stealers; O heart, walk in these places seeking refuge in God.

2. Had the moon not burned its heart for the sun of his beauty, would it wander through the skies like the sparks of a lover's sigh?

3. Even if I become the dust of the road, pain and grief will not leave me; for among acquaintances there is always one who respects even the earth.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is the thirteenth piece in the Mukatta‘ât section of the Dîvânçe. Babaarslan describes it as a nazm; it has no pen name (mahlas). It has three couplets and is written in the hezec pattern "mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün". The redif (refrain word) is "-larda", and the rhyme is the "-ā" of "dil-rübā, bura, semā, āşinā". The conjunction "[ü]" in the first line of the third couplet has been supplied in square brackets in the edition.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In the first couplet the beloved's eyebrows and glance are seen as a danger. The eyebrows are two bows or two swords, and the glance is a dagger; the poet advises his heart to pass these places with "isti‘āze", that is, by seeking refuge in God with the words "Eûzü billâh". Using a religious formula like a protective prayer against beauty gives the couplet a light jest. The second couplet is an example of hüsn-i ta‘lil (poetic aetiology): the reason the moon wanders in the sky is that it has lost its heart to the beloved's sun-like face. That is why the moon wanders through the skies like the sparks rising from a lover's sigh. "Āfitāb, māh, semā, şerār" (sun, moon, sky, spark) form a congruence of images (tenasüp) drawn from the heavens and fire.

The last couplet rests on a popular expression. In Turkish the idioms "toprak hatırı" (regard for the earth) and "hatır saymak" (to show regard) express loyalty. The poet says that even if he dies and becomes the dust of the road, pain and grief will not leave him, for acquaintances respect even the earth. Here pain and grief are like loyal friends; with bitter irony they turn out to be the only acquaintances who do not abandon him. The couplet can be read in two ways: "āşinālar" (acquaintances) may refer to pain and grief, or it may point to the lover's real acquaintances.

Bibliography

Online sources