In the middle of a difficult, weary life—a path so bare that not even a single rose grows along it—the speaker holds onto one comfort: thoughts of a beloved woman. Daydreaming about her becomes a private paradise, a place of soft, untroubled peace for his soul. The mood is tender and intimate, with a gentle sadness lurking at the edges.
That feeling expands in the second stanza, where her memory turns into an enchanted island far out at sea. The ocean around it churns with storms, but directly above that one bright island, the skies stay perfectly calm and clear. It’s a picture of how love can create a small, steady refuge inside a life that otherwise feels chaotic and stormy. The whole poem feels like a quiet, grateful sigh—a moment of shelter found in someone deeply cherished.