[00:30.91]A diver is my love[00:38.23](and I am his, if I am not deceived)[00:51.65]who takes one breath above, for every hour below the sea;[01:02.79]who gave to me a jewel[01:10.19]worth twice this woman's life (but would cost her less[01:23.69]than laying at low tide,[01:27.22]to see her true love phosphoresce).[01:34.52]And in an infinite regress:[01:38.28]Tell me, why is the pain of birth[01:46.25]lighter borne than the pain of death?[01:59.49]I ain't saying that I loved you first,[02:01.92]but I loved you best.[02:08.32]I know we must abide[02:15.72]each by the rules that bind us here:[02:29.47]the divers, and the sailors, and the women on the pier.[02:41.01]But how do you choose your form?[02:48.77]How do you choose your name?[02:55.92]How do you choose your life?[03:02.39]How do you choose the time you must exhale and kick, and rise?[03:13.96]And in an infinite capsize:[03:17.10]Like a bull tearing down the coast,[03:25.35]double hulls bearing double masts–[03:32.48]I don't know if you loved me most,[03:40.91]but you loved me last.[03:47.36]Recall the word you gave:[03:54.06]to count your way across the depths of this arid world,[04:07.01]where you would yoke the waves,[04:10.53]and lay a bed of shining pearls![04:17.75]I dream it every night:[04:24.90]the ringing of the pail,[04:31.52]the motes of sand dislodged,[04:34.67]the shucking, quick and bright;[04:37.83]the twinned and cast-off shell reveal a single heart of white.[04:48.34]And in an infinite backslide:[04:52.42]Ancient border, sink past the West,[04:59.77]like a sword at the bearer's fall.[05:07.05]I can't claim that I knew you best,[05:15.38]but did you know me at all?[05:22.03]A woman is alive![05:28.94]A woman is alive;[05:35.32]you do not take her for a sign[05:41.21]in nacre on a stone,[05:52.62]And never will I wed.[06:00.13]I'll hunt the pearl of death to the bottom of my life,[06:13.37]and ever hold my breath,[06:16.88]till I may be the diver's wife.[06:24.25]See how the infinite divides[06:28.42]and the divers are not to blame[06:36.20]for the rift, spanning distant shores.[06:43.22]You don't know my name,[06:51.75]But I know yours.