River Man
James Reed 1981 (Ca)
Headin down this river
Got no boat
I'm goin down
Drip drop done got bigger
A little splash
Until I drown
River man is callin
Here I come
I feel the pull
River man is laughin
Can't see the surface
I gotta go
He ain't gonna let me go
I can't say no, here I go
One more time, and then I'm done
I go to sleep, I can't wake up
Another sip, it's not enough
River man has got me stuck
One more round, it's never done
I go down, I can't get up
I'm goin under, the water's rough
The river man, he's in my blood
He's never done
Swimmin through my excuse
Can't see the shore
I've gone too far
Flowin through the refuse
Useless strokes
Current's too hard
River man is wadin
Offerin me
A helping hand
River man's a liar
Drag me farther
From the land
He's pulling me under the waves
I can't break free, I can't escape
One more time, and then I'm done
I go to sleep, I can't wake up
Another sip, never enough
River man's still got me stuck
One more round, it's never done
I fall down, I can't get up
I'm goin under, the water's rough
River man, he's in my blood
He's in my blood
He's never done
Never done
About this poem
This song/poem is about my struggle with alcoholism. I wrote it in rehab in 2015. Still one of my most meaningful pieces.
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Written on August 22, 2015
Submitted by Jpreed1981 on August 05, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:20 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | axb axb bxx bxc cc DEfg DeFh D xxx xxx bxi aai xx DEfg DeFh hDd |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,106 |
Words | 239 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 4, 4, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 4, 4, 3 |
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"River Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/133009/river-man>.
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