The speaker is waiting, alone and outdoors, for their father to arrive. The details suggest a painful scene: trembling feet, gravel digging in, and a face wet with tears that have dried or soaked into salt. The "late summer heat" fills the speaker's pores, so the discomfort is physical as well as emotional. Every small noise sparks hope that the father has finally come to apologise and take them home.
That hope keeps being let down. "The time never comes" is a flat, quiet line, and it tells us this has happened before. The sun rising again suggests the speaker has waited through the night, and the body shows the strain, with a stomach that "rolls" and "begs," perhaps from hunger or distress. The final line is the most striking. Despite everything, the speaker says "It's okay, I still love you dad." It reads as both tender and heartbreaking, as if forgiveness is offered before anyone has asked for it. The mood is lonely, weary and aching, with love that refuses to give up.