a name for a flat piece of wood floating on the water

[alpacinou]

Is there a name for a flat piece of wood floating on the water?

What can I use here?

When are you gonna realize she's using you? For her you're like a flat piece of wood floating on the water. She's gonna climb on it and lay on it until she reaches the shore. But the second she steps onto the beach, that piece of wood becomes worthless and she's gonna shed it.

 

[Tarheel]

Wood tends to float no matter what its shape. Maybe it's a log or a board.

 

[alpacinou]

Is this okay?

When are you gonna realize she's using you? To her you're like a board adrift in the storm. She's gonna climb on it and lay on it so as not to drown. But the second she steps onto the shore, that board becomes worthless and she's gonna shed it.

 

[probus]

I've always thought that if it's floating in the water it's flotsam, and if cast up on a beach, jetsam. However, online dictionaries seem to disagree with me, calling all of it flotsam.

 

[emsr2d2]

Jetsam is material that's been thrown overboard from a ship deliberately, usually in an emergency, in order to lighten the load. (I remember that because it sounds like "jettison".) Flotsam hasn't been thrown overboard. It's just debris floating on the water from a shipwreck or an accident.

 

[alpacinou]

Is this okay?

When are you gonna realize she's using you? To her you're like a piece of debris adrift in the storm. She's gonna climb on it and lay on it so as not to drown. But the second she steps onto the shore, that piece of debris becomes worthless and she's gonna shed it.

 

[emsr2d2]

When are you gonna realize she's using you? To her, you're like a piece of debris adrift in the a storm. She's gonna climb on it and lay on it cling to it so as not to drown, but the second she steps onto the shore, that piece of debris becomes will become worthless and she's gonna shed ditch/chuck it.

 

[Skrej]

There's also 'driftwood', but it's not necessarily flat. It tends to be tree branches or even whole trees.