An old man looks back on a young girl who loved the ocean more than anything, and the poem slowly shows how that love consumed her. She longs for danger and lets the waves wash over her "exposed" heart. Her devotion feels like a fever, and the speaker, who admits he fell in love with it, watches her struggle in cold, crushing water. Her end comes quietly: she washes ashore, her soul "strung about" like something scattered on the beach.
What stands out is the speaker's reaction. Instead of fearing the sea, he is inspired. If a tsunami came, he says, he would not run for higher ground but toward the wave, arms out, howling. The mood is wild and haunting, part grief and part reckless admiration. The poem seems to ask whether a life given fully to something you love, even something that destroys you, might be braver than staying safe.