It's a long way home
For a floating stick
Down a stream
Of a busy brooke
Meanwhile everyone's standing
On the banks
Watching
As I sink and swim
And sink again
Smashed and battered
Torn and helpless
Against boulders
They laugh
It's me
The metaphor is well done here, and the cruelty of the bystanders is described in a mimimum of words with a maximum of impact, especially as the poem nears its conclusions.
Seryddwr