Sad Poets Society № 20

Calling for help with Stevie Smith

Photo by Mishal Ibrahim on Unsplash

Welcome to this month’s meeting of the Sad Poets Society. Today, we’ll be discussing “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith. Let’s get into it.

Not Waving but Drowning

BY 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.

I’ve been drowning lately, so this poem seemed appropriate for this month’s Sad Poets Society. Although I suppose a more accurate statement would be that I’m barely keeping my head above water. You don’t drown for a long period of time. You either do or you don’t.

Then again, Stevie Smith’s drowned man continues moaning long after he’s dead. Poetry will do that—find the liminal spaces where things are and things aren’t. Dead, and still moaning. Drowning, and still living. It’s all one big mess, drops of water trying to find a way to be the ocean. And even then, the sea might yet come ashore.