Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilün

Ey sabâ menzil-i dil-dâr-ı cefâkâr kanı
Çeşm-i âşûb-ı cihân gamzesi hûn-hâr kanı
Çek rakîbün gamını vuslat-ı yâr ister isen
Gülşen-i ‘âlem içinde gül-i bî-hâr kanı
Vâ’izâ gel bize ta’n itme harâbâti diyü
İşbu hum-hâne-i vîrânede huşyâr kanı
Kasr-ı ‘ışka yine Şeddâdî temel baglamada
Dostum bencileyin dünyede mi’mâr kanı
Bilmezem gönlümi fürkatde nice egleyeyin
Hâlüm aglamaga gurbetde bana yâr kanı
Andugumca leb-i şîrînüni Ferhâd-sıfat
Dem olur mı dimesem dâmen-i kûhsâr kanı
Tapuna derdümi bilmem nice i’lâm ideyin
Vasf-ı hâl eylemege dil kanı güftâr kanı
Ko cefâyı güzelüm ahde vefâ eyle vefâ
Sâbıkâ ben kuluna itdügün ikrâr kanı
Bir nazar seyrüne cânlar virür ey şâh-ı cihân
Dünyede Şâhî gibi ‘âşık-ı dîdâr kanı

In English

1. O morning breeze, where is the dwelling of that cruel beloved? Where is her eye that throws the world into turmoil, her blood-shedding glance?

2. If you want union with the beloved, bear the grief the rival causes; in the rose garden of the world where is the rose without a thorn?

3. O preacher, come, do not taunt us, calling us tavern-haunters; in this ruined wine cellar where is anyone sober?

4. I am again laying a foundation for the mansion of love like Shaddad; my friend, where in the world is an architect like me?

5. I do not know how to console my heart in separation; in exile where is a friend to weep over my state?

6. Whenever I recall your sweet (Şirin) lip like Ferhad, is there a moment when I do not say, "Where is the skirt of the mountain?"

7. I do not know how to make my pain known in your presence; to describe my state, where is the tongue, where are the words?

8. My beauty, leave off cruelty, keep faith with your pledge, keep faith; where is the promise you once made to me, your servant?

9. O shah of the world, they give their lives to behold one glance of yours; where in the world is a lover of your face like Şâhî?

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The nine-couplet ghazal is written in the "fe'ilâtün fe'ilâtün fe'ilâtün fe'ilün" pattern. The redif (refrain) is "kanı" (where is), and the rhyme is the "-âr" sound in the words "cefâkâr, hûn-hâr, bî-hâr, huşyâr, mi'mâr, yâr, kûhsâr, güftâr, ikrâr, dîdâr". Kılıç counts "kanı" among the refrains of the divan. The refrain is a word of question; every couplet ends by asking about the absence of something, and the ghazal turns into a series of searches. In the edition the folio mark [61a] stands after the second couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The opening couplet addresses the morning breeze; in divan poetry the breeze (saba) is the wind that carries news between lover and beloved. The second couplet has the air of a proverb: there is no rose without a thorn, and whoever wants union must also bear the grief the rival causes. In the third couplet the preacher is answered. "Harâbâtî" means a haunter of taverns; the poet likens the world to a ruined wine cellar and says that no one there is sober. Thus the preacher's reproach is turned back.

The fourth couplet alludes to Shaddad. According to the legend, Shaddad had the garden of Iram built in imitation of paradise but died before he could enter it. The poet says that he is again building the mansion of love on a "Şeddâdî" foundation; this attribute suggests both splendour and that the building will not be granted to its owner. In the sixth couplet the word "şîrîn" describes both the sweet lip and Şirin; the lover, like Ferhad, seeks the skirt of the mountain. In the seventh couplet no tongue and no words can be found to describe his state.

Historical Context

The last couplets of the ghazal bring forward, within the language of love, a relation of servant and sovereign: "tapuna" (to your presence), "ben kuluna itdügün ikrâr" (the promise you made to me, your servant), "ey şâh-ı cihân" (O shah of the world). In the fifth couplet, too, "gurbet" (exile) is mentioned. According to Kılıç, after Bayezid reached Amasya, Kanuni kept him occupied with soothing promises, and the prince turned to accusing his father, asking "does a padishah tell lies?" The reminder of an unkept promise in the eighth couplet recalls this reproach; this connection is only our own reading. Kılıç does not mention the ghazal, and the edition does not state when it 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. 125, ghazal no. 165 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 61a); also pp. 11-12 (arrival in Amasya and Kanuni's soothing promises), p. 29 (refrains), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources