Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Ey sa’âdet taht-gâhında güzel hânum benüm
Pâdişâh-ı kâmrânum şâh-ı devrânum benüm
Vasluna toymak müyesser olmadı cânum benüm
Yine derd-i hecre düşdüm n’ola dermânum benüm
Dünyede aksâ-yı maksûdumdı bâbun hizmeti
Tûtî-i gûyâ gibi kılmak tapunda midhati
Çün müyesser kılmamış Mevlâ bana bu devleti
Yine derd-i hecre düşdüm n’ola dermânum benüm
Kısmet itdükde nasîbin halka Kassâm-ı Ezel
Bana mihrün sunmış ey şâh-ı cihân-ı bî-bedel
Ben helâk oldum nazar kıl hâlüme lutf eyle gel
Yine derd-i hecre düşdüm n’ola dermânum benüm
Çarh-ı gaddâr u sitem-kârun elinden âh vâh
Hizmetünden bendeni dûr idiyor ey pâdişâh
Devlet ü ikbâl ile var yarıcun olsun İlâh
Yine derd-i hecre düşdüm n’ola dermânum benüm
Niçe eyyâm idi vaslunla huzûrum var idi
Tâli’üm ferhunde baht-ı kâmrânum var idi
Rûz u şeb ârâm-ı cânum Şâhiyâ dîdâr idi
Yine derd-i hecre düşdüm n’ola dermânum benüm

In English

1. O my fair lord seated on the throne of felicity, my padishah who has attained his desire, shah of the age; my soul could not have its fill of union with you. Again I have fallen into the pain of separation; what will be my cure?

2. In this world my highest aim was to serve at your gate and to praise you in your presence like a talking parrot. Since the Lord has not granted me this fortune, again I have fallen into the pain of separation; what will be my cure?

3. When the Divider of Pre-eternity apportioned their lots to people, O peerless shah of the world, He gave me love for you. I have perished; look upon my state, be gracious, come. Again I have fallen into the pain of separation; what will be my cure?

4. Alas and woe for the hand of the treacherous and tyrannical wheel of heaven; O padishah, it is removing this servant from your service. Go with fortune and prosperity, may God be your helper. Again I have fallen into the pain of separation; what will be my cure?

5. O Şâhî, there were many days when I had peace in union with you; my star was auspicious, my fortune had attained its wish; night and day the peace of my soul was to see his face. Again I have fallen into the pain of separation; what will be my cure?

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 "-ânum": hânum, devrânum, cânum, dermânum. The other stanzas use the rhymes "-eti" (hizmeti, midhati, devleti), "-el" (Ezel, bî-bedel, gel), "-âh" (vâh, pâdişâh, İlâh) and rhymes with the redif "var idi". The third line of the last stanza ends in "dîdâr idi" and departs from the redif "var idi". The refrain is the line "Yine derd-i hecre düşdüm n'ola dermânum benüm". The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last stanza in the form "Şâhiyâ" (fol. 72a).

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The forms of address in the murabba are striking. The addressee is a ruler seated on the "sa'âdet taht-gâhı" (throne of felicity); he is called "pâdişâh-ı kâmrân", "şâh-ı devrân", "şâh-ı cihân-ı bî-bedel" and "ey pâdişâh". The poet's highest aim in the world is to serve at his gate and praise him like a "tûtî-i gûyâ", a talking parrot. In divan poetry the parrot is the image of one who speaks beautifully; Kılıç, noting that Şâhî rarely praises his own poetry, cites as an example a ghazal in which he calls himself "tûtî gibi nâzük ü şîrîn-sühan" (delicate and sweet-spoken like a parrot). The "Kassâm-ı Ezel" of the third stanza is God, who apportioned lots in pre-eternity; the poet says that this love fell to his share.

The fourth stanza is the clearest passage of the murabba. The treacherous wheel of heaven is removing the poet from the padishah's service, and he prays for him: "Devlet ü ikbâl ile var, yarıcun olsun İlâh". We read the verb "var" here in the sense of "go"; the prayer is like a farewell to a ruler setting out. The last stanza recalls, in the past tense, the days spent in peace in union. These forms of address and the theme of service match the language of the poems which Kılıç believes Bayezid wrote to his father; however, Kılıç does not mention this murabba among them. That the poem was written to Süleyman and that the fourth stanza records a moment of parting is our own reading; there is no sign in the text of which parting is meant.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 136, murabba no. 9 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 72a); also pp. 32-34 (poems addressed to his father) and p. 42 (couplets praising his own poetry), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources