Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mef‘ūlü mefā‘īlü mefā‘īlü fe‘ūlün

Bir laḥẓa ḳarār eyleyüben gitmese ṭursun
Olurdı dimeñ gözlerümüñ yaşına ṭursun
La‘lüñ n’em iken ḫandeyile cānumı besler
Bilmezsem anuñ ḥaḳḳını ben gözüme ṭursun
İrmege ṣabā işigüñe yine seḥer-geh
Efsūn oḳıyup ḫāk-i derüñden yaña ürsün
Ḥaḳḳında ki rūḥuñ dinilür emr-i İlāhī
Görmek dileyen gelsün anı la‘lüñi görsün
Dirler ki varur cennete ṣormaġ ile kişi
Kūyuñ ḫaberinden ḳo göñül la‘lüñe ṣorsun
Raḥm ider ise sīnedeki yaralarına
Merhem yirine yine bir iki oḫun ursun
Kimse leb ü ḫaddine Münīr öykünemez hīc
Diñ ġonca vü gül defter ü tomārını dürsün

In English

1. Would that he stayed for a moment and did not go; let him stay. Do not say "it cannot be"; let him stay for the sake of my eyes' tears. (The second line can also be understood as "let my tears stop".)

2. What am I to it, that your ruby lip nourishes my soul with its laughter; if I do not acknowledge its due, may it (this bounty) stand in my eye (a curse on the ungrateful).

3. So that the morning breeze may reach your threshold again at dawn, let it recite a spell and blow toward the dust of your door.

4. Of your spirit it is said "it is of God's command"; whoever wishes to see it, let him come and look at your ruby lip (for your lip gives life).

5. They say a person reaches paradise by asking the way; heart, leave off news of your street, and let it ask your lip.

6. If he takes pity on the wounds in my breast, let him shoot one or two more arrows in place of a salve.

7. Münîr, no one can imitate his lip and cheek; tell the bud and the rose to roll up their registers and scrolls (to give up the contest).

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a seven-couplet Turkish ghazal, the two hundred and twenty-third of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 223). The metre is "mef‘ūlü mefā‘īlü mefā‘īlü fe‘ūlün". In the list of redifs in his introduction (p. 9) Ersoy gives the redif (refrain word) of this ghazal as "tursun". In the text "ṭursun" occurs only in the two lines of the opening couplet and in the second couplet; the other couplets end in "ürsün, görsün, ṣorsun, ursun, dürsün". The sound common to all couplets is therefore the rhyme in "-r" together with the suffix "-sun/-sün" (our observation). The ghazal is found in the VT (150b) and VY (126a) manuscripts; the edition records no variant readings. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

Many couplets of the ghazal rest on an idiom, a proverb or a religious expression. In the opening couplet "ṭursun" serves twice as rhyme. In its entry "durmak" the Kubbealtı Lugatı records "dursun" in the sense "let it stay for now, there is no hurry"; in the first line the beloved is asked to stay for even a moment, while in the second the word can be read both as "let him stay for the sake of my tears" and as "let my tears stop". The words "gözüme ṭursun" in the second couplet are a formula of cursing. In its entry "göz" the Kubbealtı Lugatı explains the idiom "gözüne dizine dursun" (may it stand in his eyes and knees) as a curse spoken against the ungrateful and gives the example "Yediğin ekmek gözüne dizine dursun" (may the bread you ate stand in your eyes and knees). The lover says that the laughter of the beloved's lip nourishes his soul, and curses himself, wishing this bounty to stand in his eye if he does not acknowledge its due. In the third couplet the morning breeze recites a spell and blows like a sorcerer. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "efsun" as a spell, reciting and blowing, and gives as an example Zâtî's line "Efsûn okuyup üren (üfüren) anın kûyu segidir"; Münîrî's "Efsūn oḳıyup … ürsün" is the very same expression.

The fourth couplet rests on a verse of the Qur'an. Verse 85 of the sura al-Isra says, according to the Diyanet translation, "They ask you about the spirit. Say: the spirit is a matter known to my Lord"; the phrase "min emri rabbî" (of the command of my Lord) in the Arabic of the verse appears in Münîrî's line as "emr-i İlāhī". The poet ties this verse to the beloved's lip: in divan poetry the lip is what gives life, and whoever wishes to see the spirit must look at the lip. This is an iktibas (quotation from the Qur'an) and at the same time a hüsn-i talil (poetic aetiology) (our observation). The fifth couplet leans on a proverb. In its entry "sormak" (to ask) the Kubbealtı Lugatı explains the proverb "Sora sora Bağdat (Kâbe) bulunur" (asking the way, one finds Baghdad, or the Kaaba) as meaning that by asking one can reach even the farthest place; Münîrî's words "Dirler ki varur cennete ṣormaġ ile kişi" recall this proverb but put paradise in place of Baghdad or the Kaaba (our observation). Instead of asking news of the street, which is seen as paradise, the heart should ask the lip directly. In the sixth couplet even the beloved's pity is a new wound; arrows are sent in place of salve, and a contrast (tezat) is set up between healing and wounding. In the couplet bearing the pen name (mahlas) the bud and the rose must roll up their registers, since they cannot compete with the beloved's lip and cheek. In its entry "defter" the Kubbealtı Lugatı explains the idiom "defterini dürmek" (to roll up someone's register) as to kill and to put an end to. The rolled petals of the bud also resemble rolled scrolls; the idiom here points both to "withdrawing from the contest" and to the furled shape of the bud (our observation).

Bibliography

Primary sources

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