The speaker begins with grief: when a great loss comes, everyone weeps until morning. Some people search for meaning, while others collapse and fade. The speaker has always watched them, puzzled by how anyone could be strong enough to rise again. They even turned to stars and coal, as if nature or hidden logic might explain how different minds cope.
Then the focus shifts to one woman. She never hesitates and never fades, yet she seems fragile, almost gone, and the speaker can't see how she keeps living. When she finally answers, her words end the search: she doesn't run away, because she is "too strong to die." The mood moves from heavy, searching sadness to quiet awe. The speaker's curiosity about endurance is settled not by theory but by a person's plain, defiant statement. Strength here isn't about avoiding pain. It means staying alive through it.