As I talked about in this post, Nolan and I have been watching The World At War on DVD. This poem, read by Sir Laurence Olivier, particularly struck me as a father with a young son. It’s heartbreaking in its simplicity and emotion.
Do Not Call Me, Father
Anonymous, Soviet Union, 1942(Son to father…)
Do not call me, father. Do not seek me.
Do not call me. Do not wish me back.
We’re on a route uncharted, fire and blood erase our track.
On we fly on wings of thunder, never more to sheath our swords.
All of us in battle fallen – not to be brought back by words.Will there be a rendezvous? I know not. I only know we still must fight.
We are sand grains in infinity, never to meet, nevermore to see light.(Father to son…)
Farewell then my son. Farewell then my conscience.
Farewell my youth, my solace, my one-and-only.Let this farewell be the end of a story
Of solitude past which now is more lonely.
In which you remained barred forever from light,
From air, with your death pains untold.
Untold and unsoothed, never to be resurrected.
Forever and ever an 18 year old.Farewell then.
No trains ever come from those regions,
Unscheduled and scheduled.
No aeroplanes fly there.Farewell then my son,
For no miracles happen, as in this world
Dreams do not come true.Farewell.
I will dream of you still as a baby,
Treading the earth with little strong toes,
The earth where already so many lie buried.This song to my son, then, is come to its close.
Thank you very much…my wife and I are going through the world at war VHS tapes for our second time. We just reviewed vol. 9 and wanted a printed copy and to give credit to the poet of; “Do Not Call Me, Father”. You gave us said information and we thank you.
LONNIE and NOREEN
Hi Lonnie & Noreen, I’m glad I could help. I simply loved that poem and wanted to share it. It was very touching.
[...] going round and round in my head. Does anyone know more about it? Found the words on this site. http://jeffwalker.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/do-not-call-me-father/ [...]
Thanks for posting both of the translations for the poems. I had them once but lost them. Actually, there is a more “accurate” translation of Simonov’s “Wait for Me” , but I like the translation used in the World at War the best.
I am a 6th grade Social Studies teacher teaching world geography, and will use one or both of these for my unit on Russia so that the children can understand the profound cultural impact the the Great Patriotic War had on the people of the USSR. I also do a WWII Soviet impression for living history and reenacting.
I understand this very stirring verse to be an extract from a poem by Junior Lieutenant Vladimir Pavlovich Antokolovski,
Killed in action, 6th June 1942
I too have had this the first verse of this great poem echoing in my head for some time thanks to the wonderful TV series the ‘World at War’. It encapsulates for me all the sadness and futility of war. When will we ever learn.