The speaker describes a woman whose beauty is so striking that people can't look away. She is "as pale as death" and "as clear as glass," images that make her seem almost see-through, and as breakable as glass too. The speaker says she is "beyond beautiful," and then goes further, calling her "ethereal," as if she belongs to some other world.
There's a gap between how she presents herself and how she really is. She tries to seem strong and fearless, but the speaker suggests that anyone who looked closely would see through the act. Her eyes, full of an "iridescent light," seem to hold people in place. The last line shifts the tone: she has built a "great solitude" around herself. The speaker seems to admire her and also feel sad for her. The mood is quiet, dreamy and a little melancholy, with the title's "delicate" hinting that her beauty and her loneliness are tied together.