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 that dead man lay moaning)

I was much too far out all my life.

And not waving but drowning.

- Stevie Smith