Down by the bend where the willows cry,
I left my shadow to watch the sky.
The water whispered low and deep,
Told me the secrets the stones still keep.
The river knows my name,
Carved it soft in silt and flame.
It sings when I’m near,
Of things I’ve done, and things I fear.
There’s blood on the path where silence grows,
Footsteps fade, but the memory flows.
A coin for the boatman, a lie for the dead,
But the truth runs cold where my soul once bled.
The river knows my name,
Washes guilt but leaves the stain.
It calls like a hymn,
Pulling me back to where it begins.
I tried to run from the storm I made,
But the thunder wears the face I gave.
And every drop of rain that falls
Knows the cost of broken oaths and walls.
The river knows my name,
Not in glory, not in shame.
Just a song in the reeds,
Of a man undone by quiet deeds.
So if you find the place I went,
Leave no flower, build no tent.
Just listen close to the current’s claim...
The river knows. It knows my name.