Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün

Ḫaste-i dil-teşneyem şol sāḳī-i cān-pervere
K’ider anuñ la‘l-i nābı nükte āb-ı kevs̱ere
Ḫāne-i dilden ḫayālātuñ temāşā ḳılmaġa
Açdı ey meh-manẓar iki gözüm iki pençere
Ḳaddüñi bir dūn-himmet serve teşbīh eylemiş
Düşdi bīd-i bī-dil anuñ reşkiyile ḫancere
Bir gül-i ḫandān u nergis-çeşm ü lāle-ḫadd içün
Ḫār elinden döndi şeklüm ṣūret-i nīlūfere
Yaşlu gözümde ḫayāl-i ḫaddüñ ey serv-i sehī
Berg-i güldür ṣanki düşmişdür derūn-ı sāġara
Nūş-ı cān la‘lüñden it var ise in‘āmuñ baña
Hīc meylüm yoḳ lebüñ devrinde şehd ü şekkere
Böyle ḫoş-būlar geñez gelmezdi sūzuñdan Münīr
Dönmeseydi ‘ūd-ı dil yanmaḳla sīnem micmere

In English

1. I am a sick man with a thirsting heart for that soul-nourishing cupbearer; her pure ruby lip mocks the water of Kevser (the river of Paradise).

2. O moon-faced one, my two eyes have opened two windows in the house of the heart to gaze at your images.

3. Someone likened your stature to a cypress of low aspiration; the heartless willow, out of jealousy at this, fell upon the dagger (its leaves turned into daggers).

4. For a laughing rose, a beauty with narcissus eyes and tulip cheeks, my shape has turned at the hand of the thorn into the likeness of the water lily.

5. O straight-grown cypress, the image of your cheek in my tearful eye is like a rose petal fallen into the wine cup.

6. If you have any favour to bestow on me, give me the draught of life from your lip; in the reign of your lip I have no longing at all for honey and sugar.

7. Münîr, had the aloeswood of the heart not turned my breast into a censer by burning, such sweet scents would not readily have come from the burning of your love.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a seven-couplet Turkish ghazal, the two hundred and ninetieth of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 290). The metre is "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün". In the list of refrains in his introduction Ersoy gives the refrain of this ghazal as "-E"; the rhyme rests on the sound "-er": cān-perver, kevs̱er, pençere, ḫancer, nīlūfer, şekker and micmer. The "sāġara" of the fifth couplet, however, ends not in "-er" but in "-ar"; we think the rhyme loosens here (our observation). The ghazal is found in the three divan manuscripts (VT 166b, VY 140a, Ü 57a) and in the Pervâne Bey Mecmuası (PB 516b). According to the variant readings in the edition, "dil-teşneyem" in the opening couplet appears in Ü as "teşneyem", the fifth couplet is missing in PB, and the sixth is missing in PB and Ü. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal sets up a picture of a drinking gathering and a garden. In the opening couplet the lover is a sick man thirsting for the cupbearer. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "Kevser" as a river or pool in Paradise; it gives "nâb" as pure, unmixed, and "nükte" as a witty remark with a subtle meaning. The beloved's pure lip is so superior that it can tease even the water of Paradise. The sixth couplet completes this thought: while the lip offers the draught of life, the lover has no longing for honey or for sugar. The Kubbealtı explains "şehd" as honey.

In the second couplet the heart is likened to a house and the two eyes to the two windows of this house. Through the windows the eye gazes at the images of the beloved. In this comparison it is the heart that dwells inside the house, while the eyes are two openings looking out.

The third and fourth couplets are woven with the names of plants. The Kubbealtı explains "dûn-himmet" as one of little zeal; even likening the beloved's stature to a cypress of such low aspiration has made the willow jealous. The same dictionary gives "bîd" as willow and quotes Bâkî's couplet "Berg-i bîdi bâğda âb-ı revân üzre görüp / Dediler akmış gılâfından bu tîğ-i zer-nişan" (seeing a willow leaf on running water in the garden, they said this gold-inlaid blade has slipped from its sheath); the likening of a willow leaf to a blade is present in this couplet too. Münîrî shows the willow's leaves as one who has fallen upon the dagger out of jealousy. In the phrase "bîd-i bî-dil" a likeness of sound is also built between "bîd" and "bî-dil" (heartless). In the fourth couplet rose, narcissus, tulip, thorn and water lily are named together. That the lover's shape has turned into a water lily at the hand of the thorn may describe, through the colour of the water lily, some species of which the Kubbealtı notes have blue flowers, the bruising of a body wounded by thorns (our reading).

In the fifth couplet the cypress-statured beloved is addressed with the adjective "sehî", which the Kubbealtı explains as straight like a sapling. The tearful eye resembles a wine cup, and the image of the red cheek that appears in the eye a rose petal fallen into the cup. The Kubbealtı explains "sâgar" as a drinking cup.

The pen-name couplet rests on an image of scent. Among the senses of "ûd" the Kubbealtı lists aloeswood, and it explains "micmer" as a vessel in which incense is burned, a censer, quoting Rûhî-i Bağdâdî's couplet "Rûhî bu gece ûd-sıfat micmer-i gamda / Yandı bedenim gök yüzünü tuttu şerârım" (tonight, Rûhî, my body burned like aloeswood in the censer of grief, and my sparks filled the sky). The heart has burned like aloeswood and the breast has become a censer; this is why a sweet scent comes from the burning of love. We understand the word "geñez" in the line from the context as "easy, readily".

Bibliography

Online sources