Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Fe’ûlün

Bana bir kez cevâb ol gonce-femden
Cihânda yig durur bin câm-ı Cemden
Gönülde mihrüni bile getürdüm
Vücûd iline iklîm-i ‘ademden
Habîbüm gülsitân-ı âsitânun
Ne şübhe yig durur bâg-ı İremden
Egerçi ten revân oldı kapundan
Irılmadı velî dil ol haremden
Recâ itsem yine n’ola visâlün
Keremdür umulan ehl-i keremden
Müsâ’id olamazlar vasf-ı hâle
Şikâyet var kâgıd ile kalemden
Kad ü zülf ü dehânun hasretiyle
Helâk olup gider Şâhî elemden

In English

1. A single reply to me from that rosebud-mouthed one is better than a thousand cups of Jamshid in this world.

2. I brought your love with me in my heart when I came from the clime of non-existence to the land of existence.

3. My beloved, the rose garden of your threshold is without doubt better than the Garden of Irem.

4. It is true that the body has left your door and gone, but the heart has not parted from that sanctuary.

5. What if I hope once again for union with you; generosity is what is hoped for from the generous.

6. Neither paper nor pen is adequate to describe my state; I have a complaint against them both.

7. With longing for your stature, your lock and your mouth, Şâhî is perishing of sorrow.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The seven-couplet ghazal is written in the "mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün fe'ûlün" pattern. The redif (refrain word) is the ablative suffix "-den" (from), and the rhyme is the final "m" sound of the words "fem, Cem, 'adem, İrem, harem, kerem, kalem, elem" and the vowel before it. In the edition the folio mark 41b stands at the end of the third couplet. The addressee is not stated.

The ghazal is like a twin of ghazal 109, which immediately precedes it in the edition: metre, redif and rhyme are the same, and the rhymes "gonce-femden, Cemden, İremden, haremden, keremden, elemden" are used in both poems. The second line of the fifth couplet of this ghazal ("Keremdür umulan ehl-i keremden") is identical, letter for letter, with the last line of ghazal 109. The triad "kad ü zülf ü dehân" (stature, lock and mouth) in the closing couplet also occurs in the third couplet of ghazal 109 in the form "kâmet ü zülf ü dehân". The two ghazals were probably composed one after the other on the same ground; this observation is ours.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In the opening couplet a single reply from the beloved is held worth a thousand cups of Jamshid, the legendary king. Waiting for a reply is a frequent theme in Şâhî's divan; Kılıç too draws particular attention to the poet's voice waiting for letters. The second couplet takes the source of love back before existence: the lover brought the beloved's love with him when he came from "iklîm-i 'adem" (the clime of non-existence) to "vücûd ili" (the land of existence). Setting the words for non-existence and existence against each other is antithesis (tezat), and it expresses the idea that love was given before creation.

The fourth couplet is the most heartfelt part of the ghazal. The body has left the beloved's door, but the heart has stayed in that "harem", the inviolable sacred precinct. The line "Keremdür umulan ehl-i keremden" in the fifth couplet is also close to the words "kerîm işi dâim lutf u keremdir" (the generous one's work is always kindness and generosity) in a letter from Bayezid to his father quoted by Kılıç; this is our observation. The body and the heart falling into different places is one of the most frequent ways separation is described in divan poetry. Though this couplet seems to describe a real departure, the poem names no place or time. In the sixth couplet the lover complains of paper and pen; neither is adequate to describe his state. The words paper, pen and vasf (description) form a congruence of images (tenasüp) from the field of writing. The closing couplet says that Şâhî is wasting away from sorrow with longing for the beloved's stature, lock and mouth.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 100, ghazal no. 110 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 41b); also p. 8 (Bayezid's letter to his father), p. 32 (the son awaiting letters) and pp. 99-100 (ghazal 109), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources