Haleigh Rose's short poem is about how deeply a single look can affect someone. The speaker describes being seen by another person and feeling it in her soul. Nothing physical has to happen. The other person never even touches her skin, yet she senses exactly how gentle and caring they are.
What the speaker feels seems to be a mix of surprise and gratitude. The poem suggests she expected tenderness to need touch, and she's moved to find it can travel through a glance alone. The word "tender" is saved for the very last line, so the poem ends on the quality that matters most to her.
The mood is quiet, warm and intimate. The short lines and plain wording make it feel like a private realization, spoken softly. The line breaks around "have to make contact" slow the poem down, as if the speaker is pausing to marvel at what she has just understood.