The diver is my love
And I am his, if I am not deceived
Who takes one breathe above, for every hour below the sea
Who gave me a jewel worth twice this woman's life
But would cost her less than laying at low tide
To see her true love phosphoresce
And in an infinite regress
Tell me, why is the pain of birth
Lighter borne than the pain of death?
I ain't saying that I loved you first,
but I loved you best
I know we must abide
Each by the rules that bind us here
The divers, and the sailors, and the women in the piece
But how do you choose your form?
How do you choose your name? How do you choose your life?
How do you choose the time you must exhale
and kick, and rise?
And in an infinite capsize
Like a bull tearing down the coast,
Double hull bearing double masts
I don't know if you loved me most
but you love me last.
Recall the word you gave
To count your way across the depths of this arid world,
Where you would yoke the waves and lay in bed of shining pearls
I dream it every night
The ringing of the pail
The motes of sand dislodged
The shucking, quick and bright
The twinned and cast-off shells reveal a single heart of white
And in an infinite backslide
Ancient border, sink past the West
Like a sword at the bearer's fall
I can't claim that I knew you best
but did you know me at all?
A woman is alive, a woman is alive
You do not take her for a sign in nacre on a stone,
Alone, unaffected and fine
And never will I wed
I'll hunt the pearl of death to the bottom of my life
And ever hold my breath till I may be the diver's wife
See how the infinite divides
And the divers are not to blame
For the rift, spanning distant shores
You don't know my name
but I know yours
Joanna Newsom