Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mef’ûlü Mefâ’îlü Mefâ’îlü Fe’ûlün

Ben bülbülüni ey gül-i handânum unutma
Ben ‘âşıkunı ey şeh-i hûbânum unutma
Hecrün gamı yıkdı dili vü bagrumı deldi
Ben hasteni ey lebleri dermânum unutma
Yaşlar yirine kan akıdan beyt-i hazende
Ya’kûb bigi ey Yûsuf-ı Ken’ânum unutma
Bülbül gibi her şâm u seher haddüne karşu
Efgânlarumı ey gül-i reyhânum unutma
Kaldum şeb-i hecründe visâle elüm irmez
Lutf eyle beni ey meh-i tâbânum unutma
Kaldı şeb-i zulmetde Sikender gibi Şâhî
Ol teşne-dili lebleri hayvânum unutma

In English

1. O my laughing rose, I am your nightingale, do not forget; O shah of the fair, I am your lover, do not forget.

2. The grief of your separation has ruined my heart and pierced my breast; O you whose lips are my cure, do not forget me, your sick one.

3. O Joseph of Canaan, do not forget me, who am like Jacob shedding blood instead of tears in the house of sorrow.

4. Do not forget the laments I raise like a nightingale every evening and every morning before your cheek, O my basil-scented rose.

5. I am left in the night of your separation, my hand cannot reach union; be gracious, O my shining moon, do not forget me.

6. Şâhî is left in the dark night like Alexander; O you whose lips are the water of life, do not forget that thirsty-hearted one.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The six-couplet ghazal is written in the "mef'ûlü mefâ'îlü mefâ'îlü fe'ûlün" pattern. The redif (refrain word) is "unutma" (do not forget), and the rhyme is the "-ânum" sound in the words "handânum, hûbânum, dermânum, Ken'ânum, reyhânum, hayvânum". Kılıç counts "unutma" among the refrains of the divan. In every couplet the refrain is reached through an address beginning with "ey" (O); this repetition gives the ghazal the rhythm of a supplication. Most of the forms of address are names of flowers and of light: rose, basil, moon. In the edition there is no folio mark within the text of this ghazal.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal is built on the fear of being forgotten. In each couplet the lover presents himself in a different guise: nightingale, lover, sick man, Jacob, lamenting bird and finally Alexander. The beloved, too, is called by a new name each time: laughing rose, shah of the fair, the one whose lips are a cure, Joseph of Canaan, shining moon. The third couplet alludes to the story of Joseph. The prophet Jacob lost his sight weeping over the separation from his son Joseph, and the house in which he shut himself away is remembered as the "beyt-i hazen" (house of sorrow). The last couplet points to the land of darkness that Alexander entered in search of the water of life. According to the legend Alexander did not find this water, while Hızır (Khidr) did. The poet resembles Alexander, left thirsty in the dark; the beloved's lip is the water of life he seeks.

Historical Context

Listing the poems in which Bayezid addresses his father, Kılıç notes that the prince asks his father not to forget him and to ask after him. He says that this ghazal with the refrain "unutma", which gives the impression of being addressed to a beauty from whom the poet is separated, was probably written as a dedication to Süleyman the Magnificent (Kanuni), and he quotes its opening couplet as an example. In the introduction the ghazal is cited as "G142/1"; its number in the text is 143. The address "şeh-i hûbân" (shah of the fair) suits this reading. In the comparison of Jacob and Joseph, however, the roles are strikingly reversed: in the story it is the father who weeps, while here it is the son who puts himself in Jacob's place. Whether this reversal arises from a habit of the conventional imagery or from a deliberate choice is unknown; this observation is our own reading. The edition does not state when the ghazal was written.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 115, ghazal no. 143 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225); also p. 29 (refrains) and p. 32 (the opening couplet, cited as "G142/1", as possibly dedicated to Kanuni), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources