Oliver begins “Oxygen” by referencing the natural order. Her speaker states that everything needs oxygen to live. While the speaker only uses “it” (Line 1), the title reveals that the “it” (Line 1) is oxygen. The speaker also portrays the soul as a liminal substance that belongs to the body and beyond it. Oliver unifies the soul with muscles and bones. The soul needs air to function, both like an organ and for the organs to support the body it inhabits. At the same time, the soul will eventually leave the earth, unlike a person’s bones and muscles. The soul’s final destination reminds mysterious, as the speaker only states, “while it calls the earth its home” (Line 2). The mysterious, transcendent state of the soul reminds the reader about death. The speaker then pivots, using “so” (Line 3) to connect their observation about oxygen’s necessity with the “noisy machine” (Line 3) in their house. Oliver shows the machine aids with breathing through the “so” (Line 3) conjunction and the description, “lung-like” (Line 4). The word “merciful” (Line 3) especially places the machine’s function as essential despite its annoying noise.

The speaker hears the machine pumping oxygen as they tend the