Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün

Dûr olalı hizmetünden ey yüzi mâhum benüm
Göklere çıkdı figân u nâle vü âhum benüm
Öldürürdi derd-i hicrân bendeni şâhum benüm
Ger hayâlün olmasa bu yolda hem-râhum benüm
Ey şehenşâh-ı hümâyûn-baht u Cemşid-ihtişâm
Gark olurdı gözlerüm yaşına yiryüzi temâm
Odlara yanardı âhumdan bu çarh-ı nîl-fâm
Ger hayâlün olmasa bu yolda hem-râhum benüm
Pîşem olmışdur reh-i fürkatde efgân eylemek
İstemez sensüz gönül dünyâyı seyrân eylemek
Hançer-i hecr ile kendüm n’eydi bî-cân eylemek
Ger hayâlün olmasa bu yolda hem-râhum benüm
Hizmetündür dünye vü ‘ukbâda maksûdum hemân
Hey ma’âza’llâh gerekmez bana sensüz bu cihân
Ben bu derd-i hecre döymezdüm Hudâ hakkı inan
Ger hayâlün olmasa bu yolda hem-râhum benüm
Cânuma cânlar bagışlardı safâ-yı sohbetün
Âb-ı hayvândur meger var ise cânâ vuslatun
Şimdi n’eylerdi bu Şâhî derdmendi fürkatün
Ger hayâlün olmasa bu yolda hem-râhum benüm

In English

1. O my moon-faced one, since I fell far from your service my cries, my moans and my sighs have risen to the heavens. My shah, had your image not been my companion on this road, the pain of separation would have killed this servant of yours.

2. O shah of shahs of blessed fortune and of Cemşid's splendour, had your image not been my companion on this road, the whole face of the earth would have drowned in the tears of my eyes, and this indigo heaven would have burned in flames from my sighs.

3. To lament on the road of separation has become my trade; the heart does not wish to roam the world without you. Had your image not been my companion on this road, what would it have been to make myself lifeless with the dagger of separation.

4. In this world and the next my aim is only your service; God forbid, I have no need of this world without you. Believe me, by God's truth, had your image not been my companion on this road, I could not have endured this pain of separation.

5. The joy of your company used to grant lives to my soul; O my soul, if there is union with you, then it is the water of life. Had your image not been my companion on this road, what would your separation have done now to this suffering Şâhî.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a murabba of five stanzas with a refrain, written in the "fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilün" pattern of the remel family of aruz (quantitative metre). In the first stanza the four lines end with the redif (refrain word) "benüm" and rhyme on "-âhum": mâhum, âhum, şâhum, hem-râhum. The other stanzas use the rhymes "-âm" (ihtişâm, temâm, nîl-fâm), "-ân eylemek", "-ân" (hemân, cihân, inan) and "-etün/-atun". The refrain is the line "Ger hayâlün olmasa bu yolda hem-râhum benüm". The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last stanza (fol. 70b). It is not known to whom the poem was written.

The refrain is a conditional clause, and the first three lines of each stanza state its consequence: had your image not been my companion, separation would have killed me, the earth would have drowned in my tears, it would have been easy to kill myself with a dagger, I could not have endured this pain. The conditional mood of the verbs "öldürürdi, gark olurdı, yanardı, döymezdüm, n'eylerdi" gives the whole poem the character of variations on a single thought; this observation is our own.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The central idea of the poem is that what keeps the lover alive in separation is the beloved's image. In the second stanza the tears drowning the whole earth and the sighs burning the indigo heaven are hyperbolic descriptions. In the same stanza the addressee is called "şehenşâh-ı hümâyûn-baht u Cemşid-ihtişâm" (shah of shahs of blessed fortune and of Cemşid's splendour); Cemşid is the king of Iranian legend known for his splendour and his cup, and this allusion brings the address close to the praise of a ruler. The "âb-ı hayvân" of the last stanza is the water of life believed to make the drinker immortal; union with the beloved is likened to this water.

The line "Hizmetündür dünye vü 'ukbâda maksûdum hemân" (in this world and the next my aim is only your service) in the fourth stanza and the words "far from your service" in the first recall the refrain of the third murabba, which Kılıç quotes in full: "Murâdum hâk-i pâyünde hemân hizmetde olmakdur". Kılıç reads that murabba as the plea of a son who wishes to serve his father. In this murabba too the forms of address "şâhum" and "şehenşâh" and the theme of falling far from service point in the same direction; however, Kılıç does not mention this murabba, and the connection is our own reading. The oath "Hudâ hakkı inan" (believe me, by God's truth) in the fourth stanza turns the condition of the refrain into a declaration of sincerity.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book pp. 134-135, murabba no. 7 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 70b); also p. 34 (poems addressed to his father), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources