Sandy Star’s death is imagined as a calm departure: he slips out through a gate late at night, carrying no fear or hope, and the wind does not even stir. The tone is hushed and mysterious rather than sorrowful. The speaker seems certain that this exit is final and peaceful—unseen callers may try to reach him, but he is beyond them now, beyond company and worry.
The last stanza gives the poem its emotional turn. Those who loved him will smile, perhaps because they understand his release, while those who hated him will weep. For the loved ones, the wind will keep moving through his sleep, suggesting that he remains present in memory or in nature. The overall mood is tender, eerie, and accepting, as if death is not a wound but a quiet passage into something vast and starry.