Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Âlem-i tevhîdi tenvîr eyleyen bir yâr-ı aşk
Sûziş-i imkâna bâis yâr için bir nâr-ı aşk
Hâlikâ tahmîdi tasvîr eylemek haddim degil
Kalb safâ vârid ancak böyledir âsâr-ı aşk
Acz-i idrâk-i hakîkat ayn-ı idrâk-i safâ
Cilve-i kuds-i hüviyyet söyledür nâ-çâr-ı aşk
Cüst u cûya düşdüm ammâ yârdan yokdur nişân
Neyleyem ki bir devâsız derd imiş her var-ı (?) aşk
Kuvvet-i hikmet temâşâsı basîret sevkidir
Şevk-i ebsâr-i hakîkîye cilâ envâr-ı aşk
Fikrden kalbim uyanmış dîdeler saçmakda nûr
Dûrdan deyyârı tuymuş eyliyor ızmâr-ı aşk
Habbezâ tesîd-i kudret tavr-ı manâdan nidâ
Feyz-i teşyîd-i tecellîden garaz dîdar-ı aşk
Nimetâ/nuemâ tevhîd-i fıtrat görmemiş böyle lika
Âlemi vecde getirdi şu’le-i ezhâr-ı aşk
Nelmî tabîr-i makâm-ı aşkdan ben âcizem
Sabrî bir âlî makâmdır aczidir eşâr-ı aşk

In English

1. (Nelmî) There is a beloved of love who illuminates the world of divine unity; there is, for the beloved, a fire of love that causes the world of created things to burn.

2. (Sabrî) O Creator, it is beyond me to describe the praise due to You; purity comes to the heart, such alone are the works of love. (The beginning of the second line reads "Kalb safâ vârid" in the source; the reading is conjectural.)

3. (Nelmî) To be unable to comprehend the truth is itself the comprehension of purity; the radiance of the holy essence makes the helpless one of love speak.

4. (Sabrî) I fell to seeking and searching, but there is no trace of the beloved; what can I do, every kind of love proves to be an incurable pain. (The word "var-ı" is given with a question mark in the source; the meaning is conjectural.)

5. (Nelmî) Beholding the power of wisdom sets inner sight in motion; the lights of love are the polish for the longing of true eyes.

6. (Sabrî) My heart has woken from thought, the eyes are scattering light; (the heart) has sensed the land (or its master) from afar and keeps love hidden within. (The meaning of the line is uncertain.)

7. (Nelmî) How fine: the support of divine power is a call from the realm of meaning; the aim of the bounty born of the strengthening of manifestation is the face of love. (The reading and meaning of "tesîd" and "teşyîd" are uncertain.)

8. (Sabrî) What a blessing: the unity of creation has never seen such a face; the flame of the flowers of love has brought the world to ecstasy. (The beginning of the line is given in the source with two readings, "Nimetâ/nuemâ".)

9. (Nelmî) I am unable to express the station of love. (Sabrî) It is an exalted station; the poems of love are helpless before it.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This poem is a joint ghazal written by Nelmî together with a poet whose pen name was Sabrî. In the source the letters "N" (Nelmî) and "S" (Sabrî) are placed before the couplets; the couplets belong to the two poets in turn. In the last couplet both pen names appear together: the first line reads as Nelmî's words, the second as Sabrî's. The redif (refrain word) is "aşk" (love), and the rhyme is the sound "-âr" in "yâr, nâr, âsâr, nâ-çâr, var, envâr, ızmâr, dîdâr, ezhâr, eşâr".

The text is taken from the "Eserlerinden Örnekler" (samples of his works) section of the Nelmî entry in the Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü; the source given there is the copy of the divan in the poet's own hand in the Library of the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography (DTCF) of Ankara University (M Con no. 53, fol. 61a). In the source an ellipsis is placed after the eighth couplet; accordingly one or more couplets of the ghazal have not been given. Some words are given in the source with a question mark or with two readings ("var-ı (?)", "Nimetâ/nuemâ"); these have been kept here as they are. The metre appears to fit the remel pattern "fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilün" of aruz (quantitative metre); this identification is ours.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

A joint poem (müşterek şiir) is one completed together by two or more poets who take turns composing couplets or lines in the same metre, rhyme and refrain; in divan literature it is a product of friendship between poets and of conversation at gatherings. The subject of this ghazal is Sufi love. Nelmî's couplets speak mostly through concepts: divine unity, truth, essence, wisdom, inner sight. Sabrî's couplets are in a tone of seeking and complaint: there is no trace of the beloved, and love is an incurable pain.

The "acz-i idrâk" (inability to comprehend) of the third couplet rests on the idea that failing to grasp the truth is itself a kind of grasping; Sufi texts often say that knowing one's inability to comprehend is also comprehension. The double use of the word "idrâk" (comprehension) in the same line brings this thought forward. There is congruence of images (tenasüp) between "yâr" (beloved) and "nâr" (fire), "nûr" (light) and "envâr" (lights), "dîde" (eye) and "ebsâr" (eyes). In the last couplet the two poets close the ghazal by sharing the same feeling of helplessness: one says he cannot express the station of love, the other that this station is higher than poetry. The rendering of couplets whose reading and meaning are uncertain is conjectural and ours.

Historical Context

According to TEİS, Nelmî's divan contains poems written together with other poets, which shows that he was fond of joint poetry. Sabrî and İsmetî, with whom he wrote such poems, were probably his fellow townsmen; but the identity of these poets has not been established. Nelmî copied the manuscript of his divan in his own hand on 20 Muharrem 1314 (1 July 1896). For the poet's life see Nelmî (Tahsîn Hasan Efendi).

Bibliography

Online sources