8 Must-Read Poems about Drowning

Poems about drowning explore the metaphorical depths of despair, loss, and overwhelming emotions. They delve into the feeling of being engulfed, trapped, and overwhelmed by circumstances beyond our control.

These verses may paint vivid pictures of water, its suffocating weight, and the struggle for survival. They also capture the sense of powerlessness and the desperate yearning for a lifeline, be it literal or metaphorical.

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

#1

Nationality: Canadian

Themes: Death, Journey, Love, Relationships

Emotions: Grief, Hopelessness, Regret, Sadness

Topics:

90

Exploration, Immigration, Motherhood, Mothers and Sons, Rivers

Form: Free Verse

"> 90/100

Death of a Young Son by Drowning

by Margaret Atwood

‘Death of a Young Son by Drowning’ by Margaret Atwood is a beautiful and impactful poem about the death of Susanna Moodie’s young son. Atwood explores the grief of the mother and how her life changed.

Margaret Atwood's 'Death of a Young Son by Drowning' is a truly heartbreaking poem which inhabits the gaze of a mother as she contends with the fact her son has died by drowning in a river. The attention paid to the boy's curious personality makes his death all the more tragic. Likewise, Atwood's descriptions of life after the boy's death are a brilliant exploration of the effects a tragic, sudden death like drowning can have on the family the deceased person leaves behind.

He, who navigated with success

the dangerous river of his own birth

once more set forth

#2

90

Nationality:

88

Themes:

88

86

Emotions:

77

75

74

81

Topics:

84

90

75

82

85

83

Forms:

84

85

Genre:

77

"> 90/100

Not Waving but Drowning

by Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith’s ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ is a tragic account of a dead man whose cry for help is mistakenly regarded as a mere greeting.

Stevie Smith's narrator appears to be drowning, though it could be an extended metaphor. Nobody realizes that she is trying to signal for help, instead believing she is simply waving at them from the water. The poem thus demonstrates the enormous power of large bodies of water, which easily overpower individuals and sometimes even multiple people at once. The act of drowning also serves as an effective metaphor for feeling overwhelmed by societal norms and mores.

Nobody heard him, the dead man,

But still he lay moaning:

I was much further out than you thought

And not waving but drowning.

#3

88

Nationality:

71

Theme:

66

Emotions:

75

79

Topics:

85

65

68

77

82

Form:

Dramatic Monologue

88

"> 85/100

After the Titanic

by Derek Mahon

‘After the Titanic’ offers a unique character study into an important historical figure but also explores how people handle disaster.

While Ismay physically survives, he is metaphorically drowning in shame and memory. The imagery of water—waves, cold, the abyss—suggests he is permanently submerged in the trauma of the Titanic’s sinking. The ocean becomes a symbol of guilt and isolation.

They said I got away in a boat

And humbled me at the inquiry. I tell you

I sank as far that night as any

Hero. As I sat shivering on the dark water

#4

84

"> 84/100

The Art of Drowning

by Billy Collins

Billy Collins’ ‘The Art of Drowning’ humorously explores the moments before death and the cliché of life flashing before one’s eyes.

Billy Collins' 'The Art of Drowning' uses humour to explore the moment a person takes their own life by drowning, and explores the fragility of human life. Collins implies that the moment a person dies, their memories, personality and aspirations are lost forever. Just as the body sinks to the bottom of the ocean, river or lake, the spark that made them who they were remains at the surface to be disseminated by the current.

I wonder how it all got started, this business

about seeing your life flash before your eyes

while you drown, as if panic, or the act of submergence,

could startle time into such compression, crushing

#5

Nationality: English

Theme: Death

Emotion: Sadness

Topics:

72

Death of a Loved One, Pets

Form: Ode

"> 72/100

Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes

by Thomas Gray

‘Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes’ narrates a cat’s fatal chase for goldfish, offering a moral on misstep.

Gray's poem is a satirical homage to the cat of a friend who drowned in a tub while attempting to eat the goldfish swimming in there. While the use of humour is perhaps surprising given the subject matter and the fact the poem is purportedly an ode, Gray uses it to great effect. The poem also has a didactic, fable-like quality as it warns against the dangers of overreaching for things.

’Twas on a lofty vase’s side,

Where China’s gayest art had dyed

The azure flowers that blow;

Demurest of the tabby kind,

#6

Nationality: English

Themes: Death, Nature

Emotions: Fear, Pride

Topics:

71

Adversity, Conflict, Danger, Death of a Loved One, Exploration, Fate, Humanity, Life Struggles, Loss, Man vs Nature, Mortality, Music, Past, Personification, Power, Sea, Trauma, Travel

Form: Free Verse

Genre: Lyric

"> 71/100

Seascape

by Stephen Spender

‘Seascape’ by Stephen Spender depicts a seascape that is both peaceful and dangerous. The poem reminds readers of how fickle and dangerous the ocean can be.

Spender's direct introduction of the possibility that people may drown in the ocean reflects the sudden nature of that kind of death, which people might not foresee. The power of the water cannot be underestimated in Spender's view. Likewise, the poem touches upon "drowned cities" as a reminder that the term need not solely refer to living creatures but can also refer to places or ideas that have been consumed by the ocean and lost to time.

There are some days the happy ocean lies

Like an unfingered harp, below the land.

Afternoon guilds all the silent wires

Into a burning music for the eyes

#7

69

"> 69/100

The Drowned Children

by Louise Glück

‘The Drowned Children’ by Louise Glück is a tragic poem that critiques society’s negligence to child drownings.

The poet brilliantly captures the uncanny presence of bodies of water like ponds and lakes, which are both enticing and beautiful but can easily lead to the deaths of those who enter them. The poem affords the water a degree of agency, implying it wanted to lure the children in. Ultimately, the poem reinforces how easily people can die by drowning and also how quickly people around them appear to move on some such a tragic event.

You see, they have no judgment.

So it is natural that they should drown,

first the ice taking them in

and then, all winter, their wool scarves

#8

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40

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50

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40

65

Fathers and Daughters

70

Mothers and Daughters

60

Overcoming Adversity

75

Form:

60

Genre:

65

"> 40/100

For Julia, In The Deep Water

by John N. Morris

‘For Julia, In The Deep Water’ by John N. Morris uses the image of parents watching their daughter learn to swim to emphasize how parents must let their children grow and face the unknown, symbolized by the dark water.

Images of drowning in deep water are used in this poem to express the idea of being overwhelmed by challenges in life. Imagery of swimming, such as the "deep end" of the pool, is a way to express a deeper idea that has nothing to do with the pool itself.

The instructor we hire
because she does not love you
Leads you into the deep water,
The deep end

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