The speaker seems to be a mother recalling a birth that produced two hearts, two babies, though only one was expected. The first stanza is full of guilt and uneasy admissions. One child was a surprise, and the other, though "not hated," is described as someone who "would die better in my womb." The speaker admits turning away from their cries "for the sake of innocence," which reads like a refusal to face what was happening.
The second stanza turns to death. One child dies on a cold autumn night after a violent struggle, while the other survives the delivery room but is later sent to the mortuary. The final line joins them: both "live" together in a tomb.
The mood is bleak, heavy, and full of regret. The steady rhyme gives the poem a chant-like quality, almost like a lament. Judging by the imagery, the speaker is haunted by grief and by a sense of responsibility that never lets go.