The speaker looks back on a relationship that once felt complete and describes what its loss has done to them. The opening line sets the tone: days pass "like a common cold," a dull, ordinary thing you just wait out. Time keeps moving, yet the speaker feels stuck, as if nothing really changes.
The middle stanza is a rush of memories, from first glances and touching hands to being "one" in body and in life. The repetition of "when" makes it sound like the speaker is replaying these moments over and over. The sudden shift to "use to be one" is where the pain lands.
After that, the poem shows time passing through fading color. Leaves lose their shades, then everything goes grey, and finally even sunshine and rain disappear. The title, "Taken," suggests something was stripped away. The mood is bleak and heavy, a picture of grief where the world itself seems emptied of light.