Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün

Nice ârız nice çihre gül-i bâg-ı cinândur bu
Nice zülf ü nice kâkül gül üzre ergavândur bu
El urup sîne-i yâre didüm bâg-ı İrem midür
Didi gülzâr-ı cennetden nümûne gülsitândur bu
Uçarken evc-i istignâda tîr-i gamzesi birle
Gönül murgın şikâr iden o bir kaşı kemândur bu
Siyeh-pûş oluban hâli yaturken şeh-nişîn olmış
Gören zâhid sanur ammâ ki fettân-ı cihândur bu
Dil-i sûzânum üstine yine bir dâg urup dil-ber
Didi koynunda pek sakla mahabbetden nişândur bu
Didüm hecr ile ben öldüm müyesser ola mı vaslun
Didi kim yüri var sabr eyle kim bilür zemândur bu
Egerçi bezmde dil-ber lebinden bûse ahd eyler
İnanma ahdine Şâhî ki ol kavli yalandur bu

In English

1. What cheek, what face! This is the rose of the garden of paradise. What locks, what forelock! This is Judas-tree blossom opened upon the rose.

2. Laying my hand on the beloved's breast I said, "Is this the garden of Irem?" She said, "This is a rose garden, a sample of the rose bower of paradise."

3. The one who hunts the bird of the heart with the arrow of her glance while it flies at the summit of the sky of self-sufficiency is she, the one whose brow is a bow.

4. Whoever sees her mole lying in the seat of honour, clad in black, takes it for an ascetic; but this is the seducer of the world.

5. Pressing yet another brand onto my burning heart, the charmer said, "Keep this well in your bosom, it is a token of love."

6. I said, "I have died of separation; will union with you be granted?" She said, "Go, be patient; who knows, this is time."

7. Şâhî, even if the charmer promises a kiss from her lip at the gathering, do not believe her promise; that word is a lie.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The seven-couplet ghazal is written in the "mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün" pattern. In Kılıç's list of refrains the redif of this ghazal appears as "bu" (this); since every couplet ends in "-dur bu" (this is), the suffix repeats together with the redif. The rhyme is the "-ân" sound in "cinân, ergavân, gülsitân, kemân, cihân, nişân, zemân, yalan". In the edition the folio mark [49a] stands after the second couplet and [89a] after the last couplet. The second mark should indicate that Ghazal 133, which follows, was taken from the last leaves of the manuscript; Kılıç rearranged the ghazals in alphabetical order.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The distinctive feature of the ghazal is its pattern of speech. The second, fifth and sixth couplets are each a short question and answer built with "didüm" (I said) and "didi" (she said). The lover asks, the beloved answers; this exchange is an example of the mode called sual ü cevap (question and answer) in divan poetry. The word "bu" in the redif also builds a language that constantly points, that shows something: "gül-i bâg-ı cinândur bu", "gülsitândur bu", "nişândur bu".

The opening couplet is a game of definition: the poet looks at the cheek and the face and says they are the rose of the garden of paradise; the locks and the forelock are Judas-tree blossom opened on the rose. The purplish-red blossom of the Judas tree suggests the colour and curl of the hair falling on the cheek. In the second couplet "bâg-ı İrem" (the garden of Irem) and the rose bower of paradise are mentioned side by side. In the third couplet the heart is a bird flying in the sky of self-sufficiency; the arrow that strikes it is the lash, and the bow is the brow.

The fourth couplet carries a fine comparison. The black mole on the cheek resembles an ascetic clad in black; the word "şeh-nişîn" (seat of honour, raised seat) describes the mole's settling on the most visible spot of the cheek. Whoever sees it takes it for a pious man, but it is the seducer of the world. The link between the ascetic's black garment and the black colour of the mole is tied to the contrast between outward appearance and inner truth. In the fifth couplet the brand the beloved strikes on the lover's breast turns into a gift to be kept like a token of love.

The phrase "kim bilür zemândur bu" in the sixth couplet can be understood in two ways: "who knows, this is time, everything may change" or "this matter depends on time, its hour is not known". Both senses fit the beloved's answer that puts the lover off. The closing couplet names this putting-off openly: the beloved's promise of a kiss is a lie.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book pp. 110-111, ghazal no. 132 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fols. 49a and 89a); also p. 29 (refrains and alphabetical arrangement), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources