We weren't supposed to drown / Stevie Smith: Not Waving but Drowning

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Crossing the Digue River in Petit-Goave, Haiti. A bridge collapsed during the hurricane.: photo by Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse, 6 October 2016

 

Crossing the Digue River in Petit-Goave, Haiti. A bridge collapsed during the hurricane.: photo by Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse, 6 October 2016

Stevie Smith: 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 the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

Florence Margaret "Stevie" Smith (1902-1971): Not Waving but Drowning, 1953, from Not Waving but Drowning (1957)

 

One of the hundreds who died in the storm: photo by Orlando Barria/European Pressphoto Agency, 7 October 2016

 

 

 One of the hundreds who died in the storm: photo by Orlando Barria/European Pressphoto Agency, 7 October 2016

 

A boy removing mud and water from his house in Les Cayes on Thursday. “Almost everyone is living under the sky now,” one man said.: photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press, 6 October 2016

   

A boy removing mud and water from his house in Les Cayes on Thursday. “Almost everyone is living under the sky now,” one man said.: photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press, 6 October 2016

 

A street in the coastal town of Jérémie on Thursday: photo by Logan Abassi/Agence France-Presse, 6 October 2016

  

 

A street in the coastal town of Jérémie on Thursday: photo by Logan Abassi/Agence France-Presse, 6 October 2016

Jérémie, Haiti, where 80 percent of buildings were destroyed by the storm: photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters, 7 October 2016

 

Jérémie, Haiti, where 80 percent of buildings were destroyed by the storm: photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters, 7 October 2016

Flooded and destroyed homes. At least 20,000 homes were damaged across the country.: photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters, 7 October 2016

Flooded and destroyed homes. At least 20,000 homes were damaged across the country.: photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters, 7 October 2016

Homes lay in ruin in Les Cayes, Haiti: photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press, 6 October 2016
 

 

Homes lay in ruin in Les Cayes, Haiti: photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press, 6 October 2016

A group carrying a coffin tries to cross La Digue river on Wednesday: photo by Orlando Barria/European Pressphoto Agency, 5 October 2016

A group carrying a coffin tries to cross La Digue river on Wednesday: photo by Orlando Barria/European Pressphoto Agency, 5 October 2016

Saint Anne church in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes: photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press, 7 October 2016 

Saint Anne church in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes: photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press, 7 October 2016

Workers burying two bodies in Jérémie on Thursday: photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters, 7 October 2016
  

Workers burying two bodies in Jérémie on Thursday: photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters, 7 October 2016
  

A street vendor Les Cayes sells food on the side of a road after the storm: photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters, 7 October 2016

A street vendor in Les Cayes sells food on the side of a road after the storm: photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters, 7 October 2016

 

A woman in Gelée, Haiti, on Friday navigated the rubble after Hurricane Matthew. Some reports put the death toll at 800.: photo by Orlando Barría/European Pressphoto Agency, 7 October 2016

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A woman in Gelée, Haiti, on Friday navigated the rubble after Hurricane Matthew. Some reports put the death toll at 800.: photo by Orlando Barría/European Pressphoto Agency, 7 October 2016

Carrying a coffin on Thursday in Cavaillon. In one part of the country’s southern peninsula, where Cavaillon is situated, nearly 30,000 homes were destroyed and 150 lives lost, officials said.: photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters, 6 October 2016

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Carrying a coffin on Thursday in Cavaillon. In one part of the country’s southern peninsula, where Cavaillon is situated, nearly 30,000 homes were destroyed and 150 lives lost, officials said.: photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters, 6 October 2016

 Cubans pick up the pieces following the damage and havoc caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa. Matthew has crossed over parts of Haiti and Cuba and is expected to move up the east coast of the United States: photo by Alejandro Ernesto/EPA, 6 October 2016

Cubans pick up the pieces following the damage and havoc caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa. Matthew has crossed over parts of Haiti and Cuba and is expected to move up the east coast of the United States: photo by Alejandro Ernesto/EPA, 6 October 2016

Residents of Baracia, on Cuba’s east coast, search through debris for their belongings on Friday after the hurricane blew through the city: photo by Alejandro Ernesto/European Pressphoto Agency, 7 October 2016

 

Residents of Baracia, on Cuba’s east coast, search through debris for their belongings on Friday after the hurricane blew through the city: photo by Alejandro Ernesto/European Pressphoto Agency, 7 October 2016

 

A woman stands in a field of destroyed trees after the passing of Hurricane Matthew, in Sous Roche in Les Cayes, in Southwest Haiti: photo by Hector Retamal/AFP, 7 October 2016

A woman stands in a field of destroyed trees after the passing of Hurricane Matthew, in Sous Roche in Les Cayes, in Southwest Haiti: photo by Hector Retamal/AFP, 7 October 2016

We weren't supposed to drown

Hajoo: photo by soikkoratomo, 10 September 2016

Hajoo: photo by soikkoratomo, 10 September 2016

Drown, again [Tampere, Finland]: photo by soikkoratomo, 1 September 2016

Drown, again [Tampere, Finland]: photo by soikkoratomo, 1 September 2016

We weren't supposed to drown [Tampere, Finland]: photo by soikkoratomo, 1 October 2016

We weren't supposed to drown [Tampere, Finland]: photo by soikkoratomo, 1 October 2016

I forgot where I sleep [Milwaukee]: photo by Alec Miller, 1 October 2016

I forgot where I sleep [Milwaukee]: photo by Alec Miller, 1 October 2016

Home [Milwaukee]: photo by Alec Miller, 1 October 2016

Home [Milwaukee]: photo by Alec Miller, 1 October 2016

Confide in Corners [Milwaukee]: photo by Alec Miller, 1 October 2016

Confide in Corners [Milwaukee]: photo by Alec Miller, 1 October 2016

 
1016-490 (Dunsmuir,CA]: photo by biosfear, 4 October 2016

1016-491 (Fort Bragg,CA]: photo by biosfear, September 2016

Clowning the Idiocracy

American Clown (Venice, Los Angeles): photo by Thomas Hawk, 15 June 2012

School on alert, students on edge about ‘evil clowns’: Tracey Taylor, Berkeleyside, 7 October 2016

The principal of King Middle School in Berkeley contacted the police Friday after becoming concerned about a threat posted on social media about ‘killer clowns’ coming to the campus, as well as to two other local schools.

Principal Janet Levenson sent an email, labeled ‘important message,’ to the school community around 2:45 p.m. explaining that many students had been “on edge all week for fear that these evil clowns will come to King or kidnap students on their way home.”

Levinson said one of King’s students showed her an Instagram posting that stated they “were going after BHS, Longfellow and King on Friday.”

Levinson said the rumor spread on campus that the clowns would arrive during fifth period. Erring on the side of caution, she contacted BPD.

While the ‘evil clown’ or ‘creepy clown’ phenomenon sounds bizarre, it has become more prevalent in recent years, fueled by social-media campaigns that go viral. Most threats turn out to be hoaxes, but they have prompted safety alerts at schools and other institutions all over the country. Earlier this week, Kron 4 reported that a man in a clown suit attempted to snatch a 1-year-old baby girl at a bus stop in Concord.

The Instagram account referred to by Levinson, which Berkeleyside will not name to avoid giving it more exposure, wrote: “Don’t Run -- Going After Berkeley High, Longfellow middle school, King,” and has posted photographs of Berkeley High and Longfellow. The account only had 51 followers at press time.

Levinson stressed that the school takes all potential danger seriously, that safety officers were alert to keeping the campus safe, and that the school had lockdown procedures for dangerous situations.

There was talk about evil clowns on the King campus Thursday, too. A parent of a King student told Berkeleyside that her daughter reported lots of rumors going around the school. After hearing students discuss the issue, a teacher had advised students not to walk or bike alone in Berkeley.

Sightings and online reports of creepy clowns , some real, many fake, are keeping police departments busy nationwide. Last month extra security was assigned to schools in Gallatin County, Ky., after threatening messages were posted on Facebook by two people who used creepy clown photos as their profile photos.

The concept of the evil clown is related to the irrational fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia, and has been connected to Pennywise The Dancing Clown, the main antagonist of Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel It.

Berkeleyside has requested more information from the Berkeley Police and will update this story if needed.

The Circus Is Coming (Venice, Los Angeles): photo by Thomas Hawk, 15 June 2012

routine clown fit

blood red trauma sun

set into

indigo nimbus evening
out over the water

numbright
arm depending

into deep dark

clown sighting night

the spoiled brats started screaming

at birth

so yesterday's I won't go to school mommy fit

... and then

the news

clowns have taken over

the schools

closed down

mommy mommy I don't wanna!

I won't!!

regret not yet
regret not this

that

everyday
garden variety
idiocratic

the kid's just having a

giant meteoroid

homeland insecurity fit

 

Novemberhood (Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, California): photo by Thomas Hawk, 21 February 2009

Elf walks by (San Francisco): photo by Thomas Hawk, 28 December 2005

Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, bows his head in prayer during a meeting with pastors and ministers at the International Church of Las Vegas on Wednesday: photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times, 5 October 2016



Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, bows his head in prayer during a meeting with pastors and ministers at the International Church of Las Vegas on Wednesday: photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times, 5 October 2016

Idiocracy 2016: image via Shepard Fairey @OBEYGIANT, 7 October 2016

 

 Mrs. Clinton speaking Monday night at her caucus rally in Des Moines. “She has good points, but she just seems like a stereotypical politician,” said Mark Anthony, 23, a graduate student in Ames, Iowa, who said he planned to support Mr. Sanders at the caucus.: photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times, 1 February 2016 
 

Giant Meteor 2016: image via Chris Rock Verified account @chrisrock,13 June 2016

ICYMI: Here's what I posted yesterday...: image via Chris Rock Verified account @chrisrock, 13 September 2016

Glad to know shes ok: image via Chris Rock Verified account @chrisrock, 12 September 2016

Participants celebrate during an ‘I Love Damascus’ marathon in Damascus, Syria. The capital has avoided the worst of the country’s five-year war in which over 400,000 people have been killed.: photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters, 7 October 2016 



Participants celebrate during an ‘I Love Damascus’ marathon in Damascus, Syria. The capital has avoided the worst of the country’s five-year war in which over 400,000 people have been killed.: photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters, 7 October 2016

Armed security forces take a part in a drug raid, in Manila, Philippines: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 7 October 2016 

 

Armed security forces take a part in a drug raid, in Manila, Philippines: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 7 October 2016

A close up of a Malaysian guard-of-honour during Islamic Republic of Iran President Dr. Hassan Rouhani’s (not seen) welcoming ceremony in Putrajaya, Malaysia: photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA, 7 October 2016 


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A close up of a Malaysian guard-of-honour during Islamic Republic of Iran President Dr. Hassan Rouhani’s (not seen) welcoming ceremony in Putrajaya, Malaysia: photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA, 7 October 2016

An artwork featuring the image of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with the letters D U and the number 3, a word play on the President’s surname “DU30″, is seen on a rice paddy in Los Banos city, Laguna province, south of Manila: photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters, 6 October 2016

 

An artwork featuring the image of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with the letters D U and the number 3, a word play on the President’s surname “DU30″, is seen on a rice paddy in Los Banos city, Laguna province, south of Manila: photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters, 6 October 2016

Reaching Out to No One

Clouds from Hurricane Matthew blanket the sky in Haiti, ahead of the onslaught of the storm: photo by Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse, 4 October 2016


Clouds from Hurricane Matthew blanket the sky in Haiti, ahead of the onslaught the storm: photo by Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse, 4 October 2016

COLOMBIA - March for peace in Medellin just days after voters shot down a historic peace accord between the gov. and FARC. By @RAULARBOLEDA: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 8 October 2016

COLOMBIA - March for peace in Medellin just days after voters shot down a historic peace accord between the gov. and FARC. By @RAULARBOLEDA: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 8 October 2016

YEMEN - A hand of a victim amid the destruction following reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition air-planes on Sanaa. By Mohammed Huwais: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 8 October 2016

HAITI - A man bikes past buildings destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie. By @hectorretamal: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 8 October 2016

US - Commuters make their way through heavy rain in Jacksonville, Florida ahead of hurricane Matthew. By @jewelsamad #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 7 October 2016

Florida shelters quickly reach capacity, turning some away: image via AFP news agency @AFP, 7 October 2016

A woman and child take a selfie as life-threatening hurricane bears down on Florida: image via AFP news agency @AFP, 7 October 2016

 

Erin Sutherland and Mark Grafton lookeover downtown Miami as the first outer bands of the hurricane reached the city on Thursday: photo by Max Reed for The New York Times, 6 October 2016




Erin Sutherland and Mark Grafton look over downtown Miami as the first outer bands of the hurricane reach the city on Thursday: photo by Max Reed for The New York Times, 6 October 2016

A Splash of Red

The body of a Syrian child at a morgue on Wednesday in Douma, a rebel-held town near Damascus, after what were reported as airstrikes: photo by Abd Doumany/Agence France-Presse, 5 October 2016

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The body of a Syrian child at a morgue on Wednesday in Douma, a rebel-held town near Damascus, after what were reported as airstrikes: photo by Abd Doumany/Agence France-Presse, 5 October 2016

#Syria The body of a child at a morgue on Wednesday in rebel-held #Douma, #Damascus, after regime airstrikes. By @AbdDoumany @AFPphoto: image via Photojournalism @photojournalink, 7 October 2016

 

#Greece Pensioners scuffle with riot police during anti #austerity protest against pension cuts in #Athens By @alkiskon @reuterspictures: image via Photojournalism @photojournalink, 7 October 2016

AFGHANISTAN - a vegetable vendor waits for customers along the roadside in Lashkar Gah city. By @kohsar #AFP: image via Frédeerique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 7 October 2016

AFGHANISTAN - Women and children weave a carpet at their house on the outskirts of Herat. By @Arefkarimi #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

US - A motel displays a sign asking Hurricane Matthew to stay away in Kill Devil Hiils. By Nicholas Kamm #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

 

PHILIPPINES - Relatives mourn the loss of two motorcyclists gunned down on a road in Manila. By @herime23 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

TURKEY - Russian warship Grisha class Corvette 617 "Mirazh" passes the bosphorus on its way to Syria in Istanbul. By @ozannkosee #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

Dolor en Medellín por el resultado del plebiscito. Colombia dice NO al #AcuerdoDePaz con el 99.25% por 60mil votos: image via Marta del Vado @mdelvado, 2 October 2016

A general view shows destruction in Aleppo's rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighbourhood. By Georges Ourfalian #AFP:: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

GREECE - A migrant sits with his son in front of his prefabricated house at the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos. By @atzortzinis #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

LEBANON - Plastic collectors drive their motorcycles, loaded with salvaged items, on the Naameh highway south of Beirut. By @JOSEPHEID1 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

BELGIUM - Swans swim in a pond covered by duckweed or water lens at the Bois de La Cambre in Brussels. By Emmanuel Dunand #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

 #Palestinians sail boats bearing national flag in the port of #Gaza in support of the Gaza-bound flotilla #AFP Photo by #MahmudHams: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 6 October 2016

The Open Boat
 

DEATH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN #Refugee and #migrants. Part 5.: image via Aris Messinis @ArisMessinis, 8 October 2016

MEDITERANEAN SEA - A life boat carrying the bodies of 29 refugees who died on a rubber boat. By @Aris Messinis #AFP #refugeecrisis: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016

MEDITERANEAN SEA - The bodies of refugees who died on a rubber boat lie on a boat. By Aris Messinis @AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 6 October 2016