Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Gel ey serv-i revânım dilberâne eyle reftâr it
Güzel reftârına kebk-i hırâmânı giriftâr it
Giriş bahs-i kelâma vir nizâm elfâz nûşına
Şirîn-gû tûtiyi ol dem esîr-i kand-i güftâr it
Tutuşmuş âteş-i hicrânıla dil hastedir imdi
Şarâb-ı nâb-ı la‘linle devâ-yı derd-i bîmâr it
Leb-i la‘lin temennâsıyla kanlar ferş idüb ey dil
Döküp yaşlar dem-â-dem yeryüzün lü’lü’-i şehvâr it
Dem-â-dem bâd gül-ruhsâr-ıla ey merdüm-i çeşmim
İzâr-ı kûh u sâhrâyı döküb hûnâb-ı gülzâr it
Esîrin câna gelmiş ey sabâ feryâd-ile her dem
Ola rahm eyle ‘arz eyle bu güftârı tekrâr it
Geçüp âlâm-ı ‘âlemden düşüp meyhâne küncünde
Dilâ fikr eyle dildârı dem-â-dem şevk-i dîdâr it
Kalem al destine ey tab‘-ı şîrînim habîbâne
Yazup esrârı eş‘âr-ı ciger-sûz-ıla iş‘âr it
Gezer Mîr Nigârî vahşiyâne ey çep-endâzım
Urup bir tîr-i merdâne esîr-i zülf-i serdâr it
Habîbin hürmetiyçün vir murâdım her dü ‘âlemde
Beni bî-çâre-i me’yûs kılma lutfun izhâr it

In English

1. Come, my swaying cypress, walk as heart-ravishers walk; make the gracefully pacing partridge captive to your fine gait.

2. Enter the contest of words, give order to the sweetness of your speech; make the sweet-talking parrot at that moment captive to the sugar of your words.

3. The heart is set on fire by separation and is sick now; cure the sick one's pain with the pure wine of your ruby lips.

4. O heart, spread blood on the roads with longing for the ruby lips; shedding tears every moment, fill the face of the earth with royal pearls.

5. O pupil of my eye, (in longing for) the rose-cheeked one shed blood-tears every moment on the cheek of mountain and desert, turn it into a rose garden. (The couplet has been understood approximately.)

6. O morning breeze, your captive, crying out, is worn to the soul every moment; she may pity him, so present (his state to her), repeat these words.

7. O heart, pass beyond the pains of the world and fall into the tavern's corner, think of the beloved, burn every moment with longing to see her face.

8. O my sweet nature, take up the pen like a friend; write the secrets in heart-burning poems and make them known.

9. O my sidelong-glancing beloved, Mîr Nigârî roams about like a wild creature; shoot one manly arrow and make him the captive of your commanding curl.

10. For the sake of the Beloved, grant my wish in both worlds; do not make me helpless and hopeless, show your favour.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The eighth couplet adds a new word to what Nigârî says about the source of his poetry. The poet addresses his own "tab‘", his nature, and tells it to take up the pen and to write the secrets in "eş‘âr-ı ciger-sûz", heart-burning poems, and "iş‘âr", make them known. Eş‘âr (poems) and iş‘âr (to make known) come from the same Arabic root and stand side by side in the line; poetry is a way of announcing something, of letting it be sensed. That poetry belongs less to the poet than to his nature and to love will be familiar to readers of the divan from earlier pages.

The first couplets of the ghazal set a scene of beauty. The beloved is a swaying cypress, and her gait captivates the "kebk-i hırâmân", the gracefully pacing partridge; in divan poetry the partridge is the model of an elegant walk. In the second couplet the beloved's speech captivates the parrot with sugar; the parrot talks by eating sugar, but the sugar of the beloved's words silences it. In the third and fourth couplets the same lips are a medicine, and the lover's bloody tears fill the earth with pearls. In the fifth the tears are abundant and red enough to turn mountain and desert into a rose garden.

The ghazal ends in a prayer. In the tenth couplet the address turns suddenly to God: "for the sake of the Beloved", that is, for the sake of the Prophet, the beloved servant, a wish is asked for in both worlds. In many ghazals of the divan the language of the beloved and the language of prayer meet thus in a single couplet. All eleven rhyme words end in "-âr" and are followed by the refrain "it" (make, do): reftâr, giriftâr, güftâr, bîmâr, şehvâr, gülzâr, tekrâr, dîdâr, iş‘âr, serdâr, izhâr. The iş‘âr discussed in the eighth couplet is one of them.

Bibliography

Online sources