The speaker describes being in a "detrimental space" where people lie, save face, and expect her to go along quietly. They want her to ignore her instincts and dull her awareness. She refuses. The poem plays on "eye" and "I": the eye that never rests is also the self that stays alert and won't be put under.
The pocket-watch image is the poem's sharpest moment. It pictures a hypnotist swinging a watch in front of people lounging on couches, and the speaker casts those in power as manipulators who want others passive. They care only about the loose change in the cushions, small gains, while holding back the kind of change that brings peace.
The ending admits a shift: "I may lie," she says, but "eye never rest." She might bend or stay silent on the surface, yet her awareness stays switched on. The mood is tense and defiant, with quiet pride in staying conscious.