Not Waving But Drowning

Stevie Smith

Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

Next 10 Poems

• Stevie Smith : Our Bog Is Dood
• Stevie Smith : Pad, Pad
• Stevie Smith : Sunt Leones
• Stevie Smith : Tenuous And Precarious
• Stevie Smith : The Jungle Husband
• Stevie Smith : The Pleasures Of Friendship
• Stevie Smith : The Reason
• Charles Hamilton Sorley : A Letter From The Trenches To A School Friend
• Charles Hamilton Sorley : All The Hills And Vales Along
• Charles Hamilton Sorley : Barbury Camp

Previous 10 Poems

• Stevie Smith : Nor We Of Her To Him
• Stevie Smith : Never Again
• Stevie Smith : My Heart Was Full
• Stevie Smith : My Heart Goes Out
• Stevie Smith : Mother, Among The Dustbins
• Stevie Smith : Infelice
• Stevie Smith : In The Night
• Stevie Smith : I Remember
• Stevie Smith : I Do Not Speak
• Stevie Smith : Happiness