river and me

so.
or maybe so.

i am a river, in me broken stones, gravel, sand,
still  i flow, when i find no bed i flow underground,
there is somebody in me, he feels bitter, regret, cramped up
and closed in, i take him along, he feels lonely, i sweep him into
the eddies, the rocks, the pools and into the sea. let him be.
i know him, his lips have grown thin, his voice fell out of him,
he croaks, he looks as stiff as his mother, he is part of me but not me.

i am a river, nothing else.
i cannot help him.
i flow, i tear down walls, shape valleys, break through damns,
devour what is in my way, carry what falls into me, then drown it.
there is nothing else i can do.
all rivers know the way.