Mihri Hatun


Mihri Hatun, also known as Lady Mihri and Mihri Khatun, was an Ottoman poet. She was the daughter of a kadi and according to sources she spent most of her life in and near Amasya, in Anatolia. Documentation places her as a member of the literary circle of Prince Ahmed, the son of Sultan Bayezid II.
The myth that has grown up around her states that she “fell in love many times but insists that all these loves were chaste and innocent, and that she led a life of unremitting virtue.” Lewis notes that though described as both “beautiful and ardent, she remained unmarried.”
She is referred to as "Sappho of the Ottomans".

Poetry

Lady Mihri's poems reveal an artist grounded in both Persian Literature, writing in such forms as the Gazel, as well as the recipient of a deep literary education. Modern critics, such as Bernard Lewis describe her style as “retaining remarkable freshness and simplicity.”
One of her more popular lines goes as follows: “At one glance/ I love you/ With a thousand hearts... Let the zealots think/ Loving is sinful/ Never mind/ Let me burn in the hellfire/ Of that sin.”
Another is: “My heart burns in flames of sorrow/ Sparks and smoke rise turning to the sky/ Within Me the heart has taken fire like a candle/ My body, whirling, is a lighthouse illuminated by your image.”
;Gazel
Ben umardım ki seni yâr-ı vefâ-dâr olasın

Ne bileydim ki seni böyle cefâ-kâr olasın
Hele sen kaaide-î cevrde eksik komadın

Dostluk hakkı ise ancağ ola var olasın
Reh-i âşkında neler çektüğüm ey dost benim

Bilesin bir gün ola aşka giriftâr olasın
Sözüme uymadın ey asılası dil dilerim

Ser-i zülfüne anın âhiri ber-dâr olasın
Sen ki cân gül-şeninin bi gül-i nev-restesisin

Ne revâdır bu ki her hâr ü hasa yâr olasın
Beni âzâde iken aşka giriftâr itdin

Göreyim sen de benim gibi giriftâr olasın
Bed-duâ etmezem ammâ ki Huda’dan dilerim

Bir senin gibi cefâ-kâra hevâ-dâr olasın
Şimdi bir hâldeyüz kim ilenen düşmanına

Der ki Mihrî gibi sen dahi siyeh-kâr olasın