“It was hard to believe the flesh was heavy on my back.”

The poet introduces the theme of burden and weight, suggesting a physical and metaphorical heaviness.

“The fisherman said: Will you have her, carelessly,”

The fisherman’s casual inquiry introduces a morally challenging proposition, setting the tone for the unfolding narrative.

“trailing his nets and his nerves, as though his words”

Describing the fisherman trailing nets and nerves adds a layer of tension and implies a certain callousness in his actions.

“sanctified the purpose with which he faced himself.”

The fisherman seems to justify his actions, suggesting a moral sanctification despite the dubious nature of his proposition.

“I saw his white bone thrash his eyes.”

The mention of the fisherman’s “white bone” suggests internal conflict or turmoil, expressed through the thrashing of his eyes.

“I followed him across the sprawling sands,”

The narrator begins to follow the fisherman, and the vast sands create an image of the challenging journey that lies ahead.

“my mind thumping in the flesh’s sling.”

The narrator’s mind is depicted as throbbing, emphasizing the mental and emotional strain accompanying the physical burden.

“Hope lay perhaps in burning the house I lived in.”

The suggestion of burning one’s own house indicates extreme desperation, seeking hope through drastic measures.

“Silence gripped my sleeves; his body clawed at the froth”

The silence gripping the narrator’s sleeves implies a stifling atmosphere, and the fisherman’s body clawing at froth suggests a struggle.

“his old nets had only dragged up from the seas.”

The reference to the fisherman’s old nets and what they dragged from the seas hints at the burdens of past experiences and struggles.

“In the flickering dark his hut opened like a wound.”

The fisherman’s hut becomes a metaphorical wound, suggesting vulnerability and exposure.

“The wind was I, and the days and nights before.”

The narrator identifies with the wind, connecting with natural elements, and recalls preceding days and nights, hinting at a reflective stance.

“Palm fronds scratched my skin. Inside the shack”

The physical discomfort of scratched skin and the description of the shack’s interior contribute to the sensory richness.

“an oil lamp splayed the hours bunched to those walls.”

The oil lamp illuminates the passing hours, creating a visual image of time accumulated within the shack.

“Over and over the sticky soot crossed the space of my mind.”

The recurring presence of sticky soot suggests a persistent and troubling mental preoccupation, possibly with past experiences.

“I heard him say: My daughter, she’s just turned fifteen…”

The introduction of the fisherman’s daughter, turning fifteen, adds a disturbing layer to the narrative.

“Feel her. I’ll be back soon, your bus leaves at nine.”

The fisherman’s unsettling instruction and the urgency of the bus departure intensify the moral dilemma faced by the narrator.

“The sky fell on me, and a father’s exhausted wile.”

The falling sky conveys a sense of overwhelming pressure, and the mention of a father’s exhausted wile suggests cunning or trickery.

“Long and lean, her years were cold as rubber.”

The description of the daughter emphasizes her physical attributes, and the comparison to cold rubber hints at emotional detachment.

“She opened her wormy legs wide. I felt the hunger there,”

The explicit and shocking imagery depicts the daughter’s vulnerability, and the narrator feels a deep, unsettling hunger, suggesting a primal desire.

“the other one, the fish slithering, turning inside.”

The closing lines introduce a metaphorical layer, connecting the narrator’s hunger with the slithering and turning of a fish inside, hinting at the pervasive and insidious nature of such experiences.