The speaker describes two opposite emotional states and finds neither of them bearable. On some days, they feel everything at once, a flood of emotion with no room to breathe. On others, they feel nothing at all, a numbness that leaves them empty. The title, "contradiction," points to this swing between extremes, and the poem's short, plain lines make it sound like an honest confession rather than a polished argument.
The final lines turn the idea into two images: drowning beneath waves, and dying from thirst. Both are ways of suffering in water's presence or absence. Too much overwhelms, too little starves. The speaker admits they can't say which is worse, and that uncertainty is the heart of the poem. The mood is quiet, tired, and a little bleak, but also relatable. Anyone who has felt swamped by emotion one day and blank the next will recognize the feeling the poem captures.