Konstantin Simonov

If you are poetry lovers you will probably like this text because I am going to share some information about a poet who wrote one of the best love poems 'Wait for me' or originally ' Жди меня'.

The famous Russian writer Konstantin Simonov (real name Kiril Mihajlović), was born on November 28, 1915. in Petrovgrad. Not so long after revolution 1917, his father,who was a military officer, left Russia. Constantine's earliest memories were of war life.His mother, Alexandra, was a member of one of the oldest Russian aristocratic families, but she was not rich. After the death of Constantine's father, she remarried to another military officer. According to the bibliographer, his stepfather was very strict, so the mother's side of the family had a great influence on the young Constantine.He wrote his first song in Leningrad, with his mother's sister Sofia, who was a librarian.

In 1931, Simonov's family moved to Moscow, and he was employed in a factory and worked there until 1935.

Konstantin's first poems were published in newspapers in 1936. He participated in the war on a couple of occasions in various positions.

A foreboding of a future war can be discerned in his work in the second half of the 1930s. It is reflected in the themes of his works, in the motives of the heroism of the Soviet people and in the characters of the heroes, involved in dramatic conflicts.

The first collection of poems "True People" was published in 1938.

During the Great Patriotic War, Simonov was a war reporter.

Simonov wrote many plays, among which the drama "History of One Love", published in 1940, deserves special attention, and the other is published a year later.

He wrote mostly during the war years. After the war, he wrote for the newspaper Pravda.

Simonov's favorite literary genre was poetry. He used that genre for works on historical and military themes, as well as for his lyrical works.

During the war, the poet wrote his first novel "Comrades in Arms", as well as a trilogy that included the novels "The Living and the Dead", "Soldiers Are Not Born" and "The Last Summer". In the trilogy, he presented us with a chronology of the main events of that time, from the point of view of the participants and the immediate witness over many years.

Love devoted to Valentina Serova

Simonov was obsessed with a popular actress . Many of Simon's works are dedicated to Valentina Serova, who was a rising actress. Valentina was married to Anatoly Serov, who was a war hero and died in a plane crash.

After her husband's death, Valentina had many lovers, but she did not love anyone like Anatolia, and for the rest of her life, she bore his last name. Forever unattainable Valentina was Simon's love and great inspiration.

If you are into poetry you probably know about a famous poem, 'Wait for me', that has been translated into 35 worldwide languages. It is an amazing poem , devoted to Valentina.

Wait for me!

to Valentina Serova

Wait for me and I'll come back!
Wait with all your might!
Wait when dreary yellow rains
Tell you nothing's right;
Wait when snow is falling fast;
Wait when summer's hot;
When no one waits for other men
And all the past's forgot!
Wait when those that wait with you
Are bored and tired and glum,
And when it seems, from far away,
No letters ever come!

Wait for me and I'll come back!
Wait in patience yet
When they tell you off by heart
That you should forget;
And when my mother and my son
Give up on me at last
And friends sit sadly round the fire
And talk about the past
And drink a bitter glass of wine
In memory of me –
Wait! No rush to drink with them!
Tell them to wait and see!

Wait for me and I'll come back,
Escaping every fate!
‘Just a lot of luck!’ they'll say,
Those that didn't 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

Here is translation in Serbian

Čekaj me

Čekaj me, i ja ću sigurno doći
samo me čekaj dugo.
Čekaj me i kada žute kiše
noći ispune tugom.
Čekaj i kada vrućine zapeku,
i kada mećava briše,
čekaj i kada druge niko
ne bude čekao više.
Čekaj i kada pisma prestanu
stizati izdaleka,
čekaj i kada čekanje dojadi
svakome koji čeka.

Čekaj me, i ja ću sigurno doći.
Ne slušaj kad ti kažu
kako je vreme da zaboraviš
i da te nade lažu.
Nek poveruju i sin i mati
da više ne postojim,
neka se tako umore čekati
i svi drugovi moji,
i gorko vino za moju dušu
nek piju kod ognjišta.
Čekaj. I nemoj sesti s njima,
i nemoj piti ništa.

Čekaj me, i ja ću sigurno doći,
sve smrti me ubiti neće.
Nek rekne ko me čekao nije:
Taj je imao sreće!
Ko čekati ne zna, taj neće shvatiti
niti će znati drugi
da si me spasila ti jedina
čekanjem svojim dugim.
Nas dvoje samo znaćemo kako
preživeh vatru kletu, —
naprosto, ti si čekati znala
kao niko na svetu.

Simonov went to the war and in the midst of the greatest battles he realized that he would not return home alive.The only thing that kept him going was the photo and the thought of his beautiful Valentina eagerly waiting for him to come back to her. Then he decided to write her a poem that would tell her how much he loved her, even when he was gone.

He put the poem, which was supposed to reach Valentina after his death, in his pocket, calmly waiting for his doomsday. However, a miracle happened - Simonov somehow escaped the final blow of the enemy, and the writer, alive returned home to his beloved, with a poem in his pocket.

I also suggest to read a poem in Russian language,it is really amazing.

Some photos extracts of poem were taken from google.com