Harriman's poem moves through three small scenes, all built around a feeling of closeness to the natural world. In the first, two children swim among ten thousand salmon, while words like "breviaries" and "vespers" give the evening a quiet, almost prayerful hush. The second section reads like gentle instructions: teach children to catch fish with their hands, trust that a trout willing to take a chance will "kiss their fingers," and let bees land on their noses. The tone is tender and playful, and it treats trust between people and animals as something to hand down.
The third section, marked "for Diane Wakoski," turns sadder. A boy travels far from home, digs a hole, and watches deer from it. He is finally at home in this empty landscape, and that is exactly when he is "sent away to school." The poem seems to suggest that belonging is fragile, and that the adult world often interrupts it. The mood ends up wistful, wonder shadowed by loss.