Not Waving but Drowning Not Waving but Drowning "Not Waving but Drowning" is a poem by the British poet Stevie Smith. It was published in 1957 as part of a collection of the same title. The most famous of Smith's poems, it gives an account of a drowned man whose distressed thrashing in the water had been mistaken for waving. The poem was accompanied by one of Smith's drawings, as was common in her work. The poem's personal significance has been the topic of several pieces of literary criticism because Smith was treated for psychological problems. She contemplated suicide at the age of eight
Drowning breathing and circulation are present on arrival at the emergency room. Data on long-term outcome are scarce and unreliable. Neurological examination at the time of discharge from hospital does not accurately predict long term outcomes. Some people with severe brain injury and were transferred to other institutions died months or years after the drowning and are recorded as survivors. Non-fatal drownings have been estimated as two to four times more frequent than fatal drownings. In 2013, drowning was estimated to have resulted in 368,000 deaths, down from 545,000 deaths in 1990. There are more than 20 times that many non-fatal