With a single word they set mountain-like ships in motion;
how lovely it is to agree on one word and become one tongue.
İderler kûhveş keştîleri bir lafz ile tahrîk
Ne hoşdur bir suhanda yek-zebân-ı ittifâk olmak
Nabi, Turkish Dîvân, ghazal 386, couplet 2, ed. Ali Fuat Bilkan.
A ship like a mountain.
A single word.
The two side by side in one couplet.
The power is not in the word.
It is in the number of mouths saying the same word.
Nabi tells it as something lovely.
A heavy load, a shared breath.
Thirty-three sayings have been read.
All from other tongues.
Now what remains is to close the book
and try saying the same thing with another person.
A single word is enough.