Colin Jeffery's speaker walks alone through the fields and woods he once shared with someone he loved. The person is gone, but the poem suggests they are still there in his senses: he sees them with every step, hears their laughter, and smells a sweetness like flowers. Memory here is almost a presence walking beside him.
The second stanza moves from place to time. Years have "slipped by so fast," his pace has slowed, and his hair is white as snow. Age has narrowed his world, and his thoughts rest on the memories they made together. The poem never says what happened to the loved one, and it doesn't need to; the title, "The Long Goodbye," hints at a farewell that stretches across years rather than a single moment.
The mood is quiet, tender and gently sad. What stands out is the repeated closing line, "I keep you safe within my heart." It reads as a promise, and it brings comfort to the loneliness.