I was asleep while you were dying.
It’s as if you slipped through some rift, a hollow
I make between my slumber and my waking,
In this excerpt from the first stanza, Orpheus begins to describe his grief. He says that he imagines that Eurydice vanished, disappearing into a space between his dream life and real life. These lines ground the poem in its central idea: Orpheus can't stop remembering this scene, but also cannot accept its reality. They also hint at the fact that the poem repeats itself halfway through, as it shows the speaker in a state of perpetual anguish.
my eyes open, I find you do not follow.
Again and again, this constant forsaking.
This moment is the climax of the poem. Orpheus turns to look at Eurydice and finds that she is not there. The word "follow" makes clear reference to the original myth the poem is based on, as Orpheus seeing her is what makes him unable to save her. The phrase "constant forsaking" suggests what the poem is really about: namely, Orpheus's being trapped in this terrible scene, continually rediscovering the fact that his beloved is not there and that he failed her.
But in dreams you live. So I try taking,
not to let go. You’ll be dead again tomorrow.
These lines show Orpheus's futile efforts to preserve Eurydice. He notes that she lives in his dreams, so he tries to stay asleep. At the same time, he knows he cannot really save her, as he says that she will simply be "dead again tomorrow." This excerpt shows the impossible situation that Orpheus is placed in, as he can only be with Eurydice outside of his real life. As such, every time he wakes up, he relives the pain of losing her again.
