In The Arena of Love Divine
​
An afflicted water wheel, is my name by Yunus Emre
(Benım adım dertli dolap)
An afflicted water wheel, is my name.
My life floats away with the water that rushes through me.
This is God’s command.
I know what it is to be afflicted, my brothers!
I was a tree on the mountain
Neither sweet nor bitter am I.
A petitioner of God am I.
I know what it is to be afflicted, my brothers!
They felled a branch from the mountain.
My schemes did not materialize.
I am a minstrel who has no shame.
I know what it is to be afflicted, my brothers!
Yunus laughs not about the outcome.
No one can fulfill his wish.
This existence is a fleeting one, no one remains!
I know what it is to be afflicted, my brothers!
Reflections
The poet is aware of his divine source, symbolized as the Tree, high on top of an unreachable mountain. He is an individual, a branch cut off, that now rotates over and over in the waters of life, like a water wheel. He is thus an afflicted one. He has no say as it were, as to how to fulfill any wish he may have. He is therefore a petitioner to the Divine, using poetry while obeying the commands of God.
The poet is neither drawn nor averse to life when he states “neither sweet nor bitter”. In the eyes of the world his continued involvement with the divine, by way of his songs, brings about ridicule and shame.
Life seems to take over with its impermanence as well as the materialistic demands even on those who know of their divine origins.
Benim adım dertli dolap
Benim adım dertli dolap
Suyum akar yalap yalap
Böyle emreylemiÅŸ Çalap
Derdim vardır inilerim
Ben bir dağın ağacıyım
Ne tatlıyam ne acıyım
Ben Mevla'ya duacıyım
Derdim vardır inilerim
Dalda kestiler hezenim
Bozulda türlü düzenim
Ben usanmaz bir ozanim
Derdim vardır inilerim
Yunus bunda gelen gülmez
Kişi muradına ermez
Bu fani de kimse kalmaz
Derdim vardır inilerim
(UÅŸÅŸak)