Told through a chain of short linked verses, the poem follows a lonely speaker on a walk through the outdoors, with thoughts drifting between the landscape and private longing. The opening line, "just one drink," hints at temptation, and the closing return to it makes the poem loop back on itself. In between, the speaker asks how many months it has been since they held someone, and says they are missing a person on a frost-cold morning, watching their breath turn to small white clouds.
Nature keeps answering that ache. A cranefly, a rattlesnake, sparrows in a barberry bush, and a caterpillar all appear, each fragile or fleeting in its own way. The speaker steps aside for the caterpillar, a small act of gentleness. Near the end, an empty bottle in the trail register box suggests that drinking may be part of the loneliness. The mood is quiet, tender and a little sad, and the circular ending leaves the speaker's struggle unresolved.