The poem opens by immediately immersing the reader in the action as the speaker describes an unnamed figure "at the instant of drowning." This sets the poem's stakes very high and creates instant drama. The lack of comma where readers would expect one—after the word "drowning"—increases the speed with which this line is read, allowing momentum and anticipation to build and heightening the dramatic impact of the poem's opening. The repeating /t/ sounds—“at the instant [...] sisters”—contribute to the energetic, turbulent atmosphere as well. The /st/ sound also repeats throughout this stanza in "mistake" and "everlasting," the mixture of the sharp /t/ consonance and hissing sibilance creating a sinister tone and vividly evoking the image of the man struggling for his life in the water.
The unnamed man then “invoke[s],” or calls out for, “the three sisters.” Given the poem’s title, the audience can infer that these sisters are the Moirai, or Fates—figures from Greek mythology who control individual destiny. This allusion propels the audience into the world of mythology, which gives the poem an air of splendor and consequence, again heightening its stakes to draw the reader into the storyline. This allusion also subtly signals that the rules that govern the "real world" are suspended within the poem.
The speaker goes on to explain that calling on the Fates was not just "a mistake," but "an aberration," making a correction of sorts to underscore the seriousness of this error. While "mistake" usually indicates a minor or reversible decision, an "aberration" is a severe divergence from an expected course of action, usually with an undesirable outcome. As such, the speaker's careful phrasing stresses that invoking the Moirai is not something that happens often, or perhaps not something that should happen at all.
Lines 2-3 contain the poem’s sole example of enjambment:
It was a mistake, an aberration, to cry out for
Life everlasting.
At the end of line 2, the audience understands the gravity of the man's "mistake" but it remains unclear what exactly that mistake was. The line break occurs right before his request is revealed, creating suspense and encouraging the audience to read on. Furthermore, as a result of enjambment, “Life everlasting” makes up its own line, emphasizing the significance of the man's desire for eternal life, which is also his downfall.
The poem's opening stanza also begins to establish the speaker's straightforward, matter-of-fact narration style. The combination of plain language and simple, end-stopped sentences results in a direct manner of speaking that comes across as factual. For instance, the Moirai are simply called "the three sisters," making these grand figures from ancient mythology appear ordinary. In general, by describing the poem's events as if they are normal, the speaker appears self-assured and believable, allowing the reader to accept the fanciful storyline.
Finally, the opening stanza introduces the poem's main organizational feature, namely its organization into tercets. The three lines in each stanza can be seen as a representation of the three sister goddesses, reinforcing their presence in the poem