Quote by Wallace Stevens
Most people read poetry listening for echoes because the echoes are familiar to them. They wade through it the way a boy wades through water, feeling with his toes for the bottom: The echoes are the bottom.
Summary
This quote suggests that when people read poetry, they often seek familiar and comforting elements within the verses, akin to finding echoes they recognize. They approach poetry cautiously, like a boy wading through water and relying on familiar echoes as a sense of security. The familiarity and resonance of these echoes become the "bottom," the foundation upon which they navigate and understand the poetic experience. It implies that people gravitate towards what they already know and find comfort in the echoes of familiarity within poetry.