Life slips past in a blur for the speaker, who feels stuck in a deep hole. From down there, everything good seems to rush by without being touched: the sunshine, the garden, love, light. The poem lists these things one at a time, in short lines, almost like someone watching them go by from far below and unable to reach any of them.
The final line is the bleakest. "The abyss is all you know" suggests the darkness has become the only reality, and the shift to "you" makes it feel like the speaker is describing a trap anyone could fall into, or talking to themselves. The title, "Ancient Artifact," is intriguing. It hints at something old, buried, and forgotten, like an object lying in the ground while the world carries on above it. The mood is lonely and hopeless, with a quiet ache rather than loud despair. Judging by the imagery, the poem seems to capture the feeling of being cut off from joy while time keeps moving.