“Wait for me”
by Konstantin Simonov.
The poem by Konstantin Simonov
"Wait for me", about a soldier in the
war asking his beloved to wait for his
return, was addressed to his future
wife, the actress Valentina Serova. It
was immensely popular at the time
and remains one of the best-known
poems in the Russian language.
In February 1942, when the Germans
were being driven back from Moscow,
Pravda published a lyric which
immediately won the hearts of our
troops. Soldiers cut it out of the
paper, copied it out as they sat in the
trenches, learned it by heart and sent
it back in letters to wives and
girlfriends; it was found in the breast
pockets of the killed and wounded. In
the history of Russian poetry it would
be hard to find a poem which had
such an impact on the people as "Wait
for me". It made the Soviet officer and
Russian poet - Konstantin Simonov world famous.
to Valentina Serova
Wait for me Konstantin Simonov, 1941.
Wait for me, and I'll come back!
Wait with all you've got!
Wait, when dreary yellow rains
Tell you, you should not.
Wait when snow is falling fast,
Wait when summer's hot,
Wait when yesterdays are past,
Others are forgot.
Wait, when from that far-off place,
Letters don't arrive.
Wait, when those with whom you
wait
Doubt if I'm alive.
Wait for me, and I'll come back!
Wait in patience yet
When they tell you off by heart
That you should forget.
Even when my dearest ones
Say that I am lost,
Even