At dusk the speaker sings beneath the evening star, and her song reaches several listeners. Terence pauses in his writing to answer from afar, and Pierrot sets down his lute and weeps, convinced she is singing for him. But the one she seems to care about, Colin, is fast asleep under an apple tree, completely unaware. The contrast gives the poem a gentle, rueful irony: her music moves everyone except the person it was meant for. The mood is dreamy and twilit, full of stars, dusk, and the quiet shade of an apple tree. There is sadness here, but no bitterness—more like a soft sigh of longing mixed with tenderness. Colin’s sleep feels careless but not cruel, and the speaker is left with an unanswered song hanging in the evening air.
The Song for Colin — Summary
I sang a song at dusking time Beneath the evening star, And Terence left his latest rhyme To answer from afar.
Pierrot laid down his lute to weep, And sighed, "She sings for me." But Colin slept a careless sleep Beneath an apple tree.