. . . it was nothing like madness for me, in my life lived almost always beneath the pitch of poetry, a life of inhibition and missed chances, perhaps, but also a bearable life that to some extent I had chosen and continued to choose.”
-- Narrator (Part I: Mitko)

Importance: The narrator is a poet. Here we see hints that he views poetry as a safe house, using the words, "under the pitch" as a reference to the shelter that poetry provides him. He separates the safety of his poetry from the control he has over his life, emphasizing that he chooses everything he does. This thinking provides the narrator with a sense of control and helps calm him down when he feels overwhelmed by the often dangerous decisions he makes because he is worried about how a gay man will be received by the world.

. . . so it is that at the very moment we come into full...
-- Narrator (Part I: Mitko)