Going out on a limb with "The Bridge"

I am kind of nervous to voice my thoughts on this poem because I think I may be radically off base. Not with my opinion of it which is, that it is a melancholy story that tells so much but leaves you feeling lonely. At the same time it reminded a little of The Things They Carried in that it had little contradictions throughout the whole thing. It starts with "These fulsome nouns, these abbreviations of air/Are not real, but two of them may fit a small man" then later "the false name of a real man" and finally "Many times I have thought everything I have said/ Or thought was a lie, moving some blame or credit". It is this last line that makes me think that this may be the speakers story if it is true at all. It was the speaker who was jumped into the water to save four people but only ended up saving three. Perhaps he gives themself an alias, attributes the story to someone else behind because the truth is too much. This is speculation of course but that is the impression that I got.