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