Not Waving but Drowning

News had got out that someone was taking their 4,000th blip on the other side of the river. Of course, the paparazzi were out in numbers in a futile attempt to record the momentous occasion.

Bi Christ it was cauld though...

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.

Stevie Smith, 1902–1971.