Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâ‘îlün Mefâ‘îlün Mefâ‘îlün Mefâ‘îlün

Güzergâhındadır gülzâr-ı kûy-i gül-‘izâr elbet
Sabâ benden niyâz it öp ayağın sad hezâr elbet
Reh-i sevdâdan ey dil geçme gel zîrâ ki bir vakti
Kılar cevlân nazar-gâhında ol gülgûn-süvâr elbet
Eger bezm içre yokdur sûziş-i mey-hârlar ammâ
Ne gam zîrâ gelür bir vakt nigâr-ı tâb-dâr elbet
Murâdın hâsıl ey dil ni‘met-i uzmâlara nâil
Olursun kim irer bir peyk ü mürg-i tâc-dâr elbet
Nidâ eylerse erbâb-ı gönül bir dem hulûsâne
Gelür cânib-i dilberden sadâ-yı sad hezâr elbet
Tahammül bâyed ey dil sûre-i Yûsuf sana kâfî
Ümîdin kesmegil Hak'tan olursun kâm-kâr elbet
Ger ey Mîr Nigârî gam yedinse şâdımân ol kim
Gelür sayyâd-ı ikbâlin elinde bir şikâr elbet

In English

1. The rose garden of the rose-cheeked one's street surely lies on her path; O morning breeze, plead for me, kiss her feet a hundred thousand times.

2. O heart, do not give up the road of passion, come; for that rose-red rider will surely one day ride about where you can see.

3. Though the burning of the wine-drinkers is missing from the gathering, there is no grief; for the radiant beloved will surely come one day.

4. O heart, your wish will be granted, you will attain great blessings; for a messenger, a crowned bird, will surely arrive.

5. If the people of the heart call out sincerely for a moment, a hundred thousand voices will surely come from the beloved's side.

6. O heart, patience is needed, the sura of Joseph is enough for you; do not cut off hope in God, you will surely attain your desire.

7. O Mîr Nigârî, if you have suffered grief, be glad; for the hunter of fortune will surely come with game in his hand.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The refrain "elbet", surely, gives certainty to every couplet of the ghazal, and unlike most ghazals of this part of the divan this certainty is turned towards hope. In every couplet there is a waiting and a promise: the beloved will come one day, the messenger will arrive, the voice will be answered, the hunter of fortune will return with game in his hand. After complaints of separation, the ghazal reads like a poem of consolation.

The sixth couplet takes the ground of this hope from the Quran: "sûre-i Yûsuf sana kâfî", the sura of Joseph is enough for you. In the sura of Joseph, Jacob is parted from his son for years and his eyes turn white from weeping, yet he says "sabr-ı cemîl", beautiful patience, and is reunited with his son in the end. The poet reminds his heart of this story: endurance is needed, hope in God is not cut off. This story, which the Quran calls "the most beautiful of tales", is the best-known example of separation and reunion in divan poetry.

The "mürg-ı tâc-dâr", crowned bird, of the fourth couplet recalls the hoopoe. In the sura al-Naml the hoopoe is the bird that carries news between Solomon and the queen of Sheba, and because of its crest it is called the crowned bird in divan poetry. Attâr's hoopoe was also named in Nigârî's divan; here the hoopoe becomes the bearer of good news from the beloved. In the first couplet the morning breeze does the same work: it carries the lover's plea and kisses the beloved's feet. Hezâr is used twice in the "-âr" rhyme, joined by süvâr, tâb-dâr, tâc-dâr, kâm-kâr and şikâr.

Bibliography

Online sources