Summer begins like a cheerful celebration of warmth, growth and freedom, with school out and play beginning. Then the poem turns. The speaker points out that this season isn't joyful for everyone. For some children, school was the one refuge from a harmful home, and summer takes that refuge away. The images of bruises, burns and tears suggest abuse, and the speaker describes a home where the pain is worse than anything in the "toxic school halls."
The sunlight, first called comforting and friendly, becomes hostile and burning. The image of an animal with no tree to hide behind makes the child feel exposed and helpless, with nowhere to take shelter. The mood shifts from light and carefree to bleak, angry and sad. The closing lines hit hardest: "Summer time? / Summer has just begun." The question mark shows doubt about whether this is really a happy season, and the last line reads as a warning that the suffering is only starting.