Two tiny scenes, each opening with the same simple image: light falling on something ordinary, first a fence, then a wharf. Each image is followed by a short, startling statement from the speaker, and the poem leaves us to work out the link.
In the first, light on a fence leads to "I believe in the clock." It sounds almost like a confession of faith, but the faith is in time, something that moves on whether we like it or not. The fence suggests a boundary, and perhaps the way daylight marks out the hours. In the second, the wharf is a place of arrival, departure and trade, and the speaker says "we consume to no purpose." The tone turns from belief to quiet criticism, or maybe weariness.
The mood is calm on the surface, with its clean, bright pictures, but a little uneasy underneath. The speaker seems to be noticing beauty while also feeling time pass and sensing that much of what people do is empty. The poem gives no explanation, which makes the thoughts feel sudden and honest.