Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mef‘ūlü fā‘ilātü mefā‘īlü fā‘ilün

Evvel bu serv-ḳaddüñ odur bir kerāmeti
Her demde gösterür bize rūz-ı ḳıyāmeti
Yüzüñ çerāġına niçün öykünür idi şem‘
Yansun ölince oldur o cürmüñ ġarāmeti
Ṣu indi ayaġına ṭurur serv ḳarşuña
Gör ḫıdmetüñde kim nicedür istiḳāmeti
Devrinde la‘lüñüñ mey-i nāb içmedüm diyü
Zāhid dökerse vechi var eşk-i nedāmeti
Biter mezārum üzre ‘alem dūd-ı dil Münīr
Olmazsa ġam degül daḫı dürlü ‘alāmeti

In English

1. First of all, one miracle of this cypress stature is that at every moment it shows us the Day of Resurrection.

2. Why did the candle presume to imitate the lamp of your face; let it burn until it dies, that is the penalty for that crime.

3. The water has come down to (the cypress's) feet, and the cypress stands before you; see how upright and straight it is in your service.

4. If the ascetic sheds tears of remorse saying "I did not drink pure wine in the reign of your lip", he has good reason.

5. Münîr, on my grave the smoke of the heart will rise as a banner; if there is no other sign, no matter.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a five-couplet Turkish ghazal, the three hundredth of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 300). The metre is "mef‘ūlü fā‘ilātü mefā‘īlü fā‘ilün". In the list of refrains in his introduction Ersoy gives the refrain of this ghazal as "-İ"; the rhyme rests on the sound "-āmet": kerāmet, ḳıyāmet, ġarāmet, istiḳāmet, nedāmet and ‘alāmet. All the rhyme words are Arabic. The ghazal is found in all three divan manuscripts (VT 169a, VY 146a, Ü 58b); the edition records no variant readings. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In the opening couplet the beloved's cypress stature works a miracle like a saint. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "keramet" as an extraordinary deed, beyond the bounds of reason, that a saint performs by the grace of God. The miracle of the stature is that it shows the Resurrection at every moment. The Kubbealtı explains "kıyâmet" as the event in which this world comes to an end and the dead are raised, and gives as a figurative sense a noisy tumult. The gait of the cypress-statured beloved raises a tumult of resurrection among the lovers (our reading).

The second couplet is a reckoning between the candle and the face. The candle has presumed to imitate the lamp of the beloved's face; the penalty for this crime is to burn until it dies. The Kubbealtı explains "garâmet" as the paying of a debt and as something that must be paid, a debt, a tax. The candle's burning as it melts is shown as a price being paid.

The third couplet carries on the image of the cypress. The Kubbealtı derives "istikāmet" from the Arabic root "kıyâm" (to stand, to rise, to stand upright) and gives the senses of direction and uprightness. The cypress stands erect before the beloved, and the water comes down to its feet; the cypress's uprightness can be read both as the straightness of the body and as rectitude in service (our reading).

In the fourth couplet the ascetic is the target. The Kubbealtı explains "nâb" as pure, unmixed, and "nedâmet" as remorse; among the senses of "vecih" is also cause, reason. The ascetic regrets not having drunk wine in the reign of the beloved's lip, and there is reason for this remorse. The subject of the remorse is not a sin but the wine left undrunk.

The pen-name couplet ends with a pun. The Kubbealtı explains "alem" first as sign, mark, token and then as standard, banner; it gives "dûd" as smoke and figuratively as grief, worry. The smoke rising from the heart is planted on the grave like a banner; "alem" and the rhyme word "alâmet" (sign) belong to the same circle of meaning. The words "gam değil" (no matter, literally "it is no grief") are also tied to grief, the figurative sense of smoke (our observation).

Bibliography

Online sources