Larry Eigner packs a lot of physical effort into a few spare lines. The poem begins with "breaking ice," and the words that follow, "heat / of attempt," suggest the warmth of someone working hard in the cold. "Eat air" is a startling phrase: it could mean gulping breath in the chill, or hunger so basic that even air feels like food. Then the view widens to the sea and the moon, which "rocks the bodies of water," as if the whole world were moving gently under a larger pull.
The second stanza shifts to "we," a small group quietly getting food from the water. The last lines settle on weather: wind, light, and something "hard as a pane of glass," which may be the frozen surface itself. The mood is patient, alert, and a little austere. The speaker doesn't complain or celebrate. Instead, the broken, hesitant line breaks make you feel the slow work of survival, with nature both harsh and strangely beautiful.