The speaker describes waking in the night to feel—or imagine—a dark figure striking him. He tries to cry out, but no one hears, and he is left paralyzed and speechless. By morning there is no physical evidence, no sign of a break-in or injury. Yet something has been taken. He says he has lost his peace. The experience may have been a dream, but the fear is real.
The poem creates a hushed, uneasy mood, somewhere between nightmare and half-waking dread. It suggests an inner violation or sudden depression that arrives without explanation and leaves no outward trace. Lawrence keeps the language simple and bare, so the thief feels less like a person than a shapeless, emotional force—something that slips in during the night and steals the speaker’s calm.