Wait for Me. Translated by Alexander Artemov

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.

The poem was written by Konstantin Simonov to his beloved, during the war, when so many people died in this war and did not return back home. 1941

In February 1942, when the Germans were being driven back from Moscow, Pravda published a lyric which immediately won the hearts of our troops. It was "Wait for me". 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.

Wait for me, and I’ll be back,
Should you wait me strong.
Wait for me when sky is black
And the sun has gone,
Wait for me when it is cold,
And when it is hot,
Wait for me when others don’t,
’Cause they just forgot.
Wait in case you don’t receive
Letters from the front,
Wait, and I will outlive,
If you really want.

Wait for me, and I’ll be back.
Don’t you talk to those
Gluing me a dead man tag.
That’s a wrong suppose.

Let my relatives believe
That I am the past,
Let my friends forget and give
Funeral repast.
They will drink a glass of wine
For the peace of soul...
You just wait and don’t make time,
Do not raise the bowl.

Wait for me, and I’ll be back,
Disregard the fate,
In the morning with my bag,
Should you only wait.

They will hardly understand,
How I could survive.
Waiting me from foreign land,
You have saved my life.

Let them say that it’s too late.
What you feeling tells?
I’ll be back, because you wait
Like nobody else.

Konstantin Simonov, 1941

Translated by Alexander Artemov

Wait for me

A poem connection to soldiers from the USSR during the second world war makes it resonate strongly when you consider the plight of any man at war and the uncertainty of return.

Wait for me, and I'll return
Only wait very hard
Wait when you are filled with sorrow...
Wait in the sweltering heat
Wait when the others have stopped waiting,
Forgetting their yesterdays.


Wait even when from afar no letters come to you
Wait even when others are tired of waiting...
And when friends sit around the fire,
Drinking to my memory,
Wait, and do not hurry to drink to my memory too.


Wait. For I'll return,defying every death.
And let those who do not wait say that I was lucky.
They will never understand that in the midst of death,
You with you waiting saved me.
Only you and I know how I survived.
It's because you waited, as no one else did.

Wait for Me. Translated by Mike Munford

to Valentina Serova

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 when my friends give up,
Sit and count the cost,
Drink a glass of bitter wine
To the fallen friend -
Wait! And do not drink with them!
Wait until the end!

Wait for me and I'll come back,
Dodging every fate!
"What a bit of luck!" they'll say,
Those that would not wait.
They will never understand
How amidst the strife,
By your waiting for me, dear,
You had saved my life.
Only you and I will know
How you got me through.
Simply - you knew how to wait -
No one else but you.

1941

Translated by Mike Munford

Wait for Me. Translated by Fatih Akgul.

Wait for me, I'l be back
Wait with all your strength
Wait when the rains of sorrow
Cover the skies.
Wait when snow is freezing,
Wait when the sun is burning.
Wait, when no one else is waiting any more,
Even if you forget the past, full of memories
Even if you don't hear from me
Even if you don't receive a single letter
Even when all others are tired of waiting
Wait for me, I'll be back.

Wait for me, I'll be back.
Let my friends, mother, son
Think that I'm dead,
When they are tired of waiting.
Let them lose all hope and drink
By the fire while talking of my memories
But you, never drink from that heart breaking wine
Wait for me with belief and patience.

Wait for me, I'll be back
Wait despite all the deaths you see.
Because your great patience
Will save me from our enemies.
Wait for me when the sun is burning,
Wait when the snow is falling.
Only you and I, only two of us
Will know that we are immortal.
Only we will know this secret that no one else knows.
That you've been waiting for me
When no one else does.

Translated by Fatih Akgul

Wait for Me - Konstantin Simonov

Wait for me, and I`ll come back,
Wait and I`ll come.
Wait through autumn`s yellow rains
And its tedium.
Steel your heart and do not grieve,
Wait through winter`s hase,
Wait through wind and raging storm,
Wait through summer`s blaze.
Wait when others wait no more,
When my letters stop,
Wait with hope that never wanes,
Wait and don`t give up.

Wait for me and I`ll come back,
Patience, dear one, learn.
Turn away from those who say
That I`ll not return.
Let my son and mother weep
Tears of sorrow, let
Friends insist that it is time,
That you must forget.
Do not listen to their kind
Words of sympathy,
Do not join them if they drink
To my memory.

Wait for me. Let those who don`t -
Once I`m back with you -
Let them say that it was luck
That had seen us through.
You and I alone will know
That I safely came,
Spiting every kind of death,
Through that lethal flame,
Just because you learned to wait
Staunchly, stubbornly,
And like no one else on earth
Waited, love, for me.

Konstantin Simonow (1915 - 1979), Russia.


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