Drowning
The freefall backwards is just the beginning.
All is white, roaring confusion.
For what seems like hours,
I am flung about.
Hungry for air, I push towards the surface,
only to find there is no surface,
just swell on swell on swell
hurrying me deeper.
I swirl relentlessly searching for the light,
the pressure in my chest rising,
my lungs bursting, gasping.
I’m drowning – drowning.
What made me think I could ride these crystal waves?
Why had I ventured out so deep?
Why had I not seen what
monstrous force was swelling?
Everything had moved to a point of impact.
The oncoming wave had unfurled
with such force of water,
it had engulfed me.
Seeing an open corridor, I had lunged,
plunging hard over the first peak,
but seeing fear on fear
glimpsing what lay beyond.
Now, drowning, out of control, my mind frenzied,
panicking – threshing arms and legs.
Desperately I search
for the open sky.
But … then I remember … my leg rope … tugging,
pulling at my ankles, begging
to be lifted up
like an annoying child.
With one, last furious kick, I lunge, plunging
deeper – deeper down to retrieve
the leg-rope before
surging to the surface.
As I break through to open sky, my lips part.
Water pours in, pushing me down -
deeper, more deep I go –
I’m drowning – drowning.
Again, I surge, urging my body to live,
pushing with all my might to fight
back up to the surface,
and breathe air’s sweetness.
Convulsing, spluttering, I gasp – exhausted.
I am spent, and the sea is spent.
The set of waves has passed,
and I am alive.
As I look up at the star sprinkled, night sky,
my board bobs nearby unconcerned -
like a seagull on the
skin of the ocean.
Night surfing - never again!
About this poem
I have experienced this - i hope I never do again!
Font size:
Written on April 04, 2021
Submitted by susannaelliott on April 19, 2024
Modified by susannaelliott on April 19, 2024
- 1:47 min read
- 6 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | abxx ccxd eaaA xxxa xxdx xxxx xxxf aaxx axxc xxxA gecc xxxg fxxbx |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,705 |
Words | 357 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Drowning" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/185627/drowning>.
Discuss the poem Drowning with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In