First having read the book of myths, / and loaded the camera / and checked the edge of the knife-blade, / I put on / the body-armor of black rubber / the absurd flippers / the grave and awkward mask.
-- Speaker (Lines 1 – 7)

Importance: This quote opens the poem and immediately familiarizes the reader with the speaker’s preparations for their dive. It foreshadows tensions to come with Rich’s use of defensive items, “the knife-blade” and protective descriptions, “the body-armor.”

I go down. / Rung after rung and still / the oxygen immerses me / the blue light / the clear atoms / of our human air. / I go down.
-- Speaker (Lines 21 – 28)

Importance: This quote follows the description of the ship’s ladder in the second stanza. The end-stop of the first line represents the speaker’s decision to start their dive. The enjambment of lines 22-27 creates a forward and downward momentum, emphasizing the “rung after rung” movements of the speaker. No matter how long it...