The speaker is trying to get over someone who has hurt them more than once. They list what they've tried, including counseling, church, poetry and art, but nothing has worked. The main image is chains: memories bind the speaker's soul, and breaking free feels as drastic as cutting off a hand. When the ex returned "with a ring of keys," it seemed like a rescue, but it only unlocked the old sorrow and left the speaker on their knees. The person who hurt them is now called a "warden," and depression is a dungeon.
The mood is heavy and worn down, though it ends with a stubborn, hopeful push. The speaker plans to suppress their feelings and says they feel "void of emotion" for now. Yet the poem admits the trap: forgetting the bad isn't enough, because the good memories are what hurt most. The closing goodbye sounds determined, but the poem has already shown how hard that goodbye will be.