At the end of my suffering / there was a door. // Hear me out: that which you call death / I remember.
-- The iris ("The Wild Iris")

Importance: The opening lines of "The Wild Iris," the first poem in the collection, are evocative and meant to surprise the reader, as it is impossible for someone to remember their own death. However, it becomes clear as the poem progresses that the speaker is the titular flower and that it is describing its death in winter and reblooming in spring.

We never thought of you / whom we were learning to worship. / We merely knew it wasn't human nature to love / only what returns love.
-- Unknown speaker ("Matins (#3)")

Importance: It is unclear who the speaker(s) is/are in "Matins (#3)," but it seems likely that the poem is meant to be read as the voice of either Adam or Eve or both collectively. The speaker describes feeling isolated and separate from God, but recognizes that...