The poem sets up a small, odd scene in a place the title calls "the country of the rat." That phrase suggests a world that is dirty, scavenging, and a little hostile, where life runs on cheap trades. The speaker pays a groat, an old coin of very little value, for a pot, then uses it as a toilet. The deal is blunt and almost comic: a bargain, a basic bodily need, no fuss.
Then the last line shifts the tone. The speaker is "waiting for the moon," and the crude act suddenly feels quiet and patient, even a little hopeful. The moon is something clean and distant, set against the grubby pot and the rat-ridden surroundings.
The speaker seems resigned but not defeated. There is dry humor in how plainly things are stated, and a stubborn calm in sitting there until something beautiful appears. The mood mixes earthy and lyrical, as if poverty and wonder could share the same small space.