Not Waving but Drowning

Stevie Smith
Not Waving but Drowning

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

Paraphrase:

Here the author is simply stating that no one heard the man die, they were not paying attention.  Even though no one heard him he was still moaning, the inattention of the others did not change the fact of his death.  You get the imagery that he was out in the ocean perhaps, and further from shore than the others realized, and when they thought he was waving at them he was really drowning.

The others are feel bad, however the wording shows somewhat of a dismissive attitude, “poor chap” , rather than sorrow.   They note that he was always being childish and careless, goofing around, and now he has died as a result.  The death is then blamed on the cold water causing his heart to give out.  They are disassociating themselves from his death, blaming it on his own foolishness and the coldness of the water, taking no responsibility for their inattention to his attempts to get help.

The dead man responds that it had always been too cold. This draws a line between the imagery of drowning and the reality of the dead man’s existing.  He is still moaning, even though he is dead, trying to get his meaning across to the others even through his death.  He indicates that he had spent his whole life adrift ‘too far out’ and that all of his ‘larking’ foolishness was really an indication that he needed help, not true exuberance.

This poem is really chilling.  I have known many a ‘clown’ whose silliness and good humor were really covering a lot of pain and loneliness.  I actually think this is the norm rather than the exception for funny people.  Reading biographies of comedians has shown me this is true even among professional funny people.