The poem follows one woman through her whole life, told in a cool, distant voice that rarely says "I" or lets her speak. First comes a young man who stares at her but cannot touch her or truly know her. Then another, who offers a performance of love, and the poem hints she is using the moment to be seen before she ages. Later she marries a man who no longer needs her, and her feelings dim. When he dies, she is left with a strange, quiet worship of what he was.
In old age her son drifts away, and she chooses to be unobtrusive and expect a lonely death. The final section turns warm: she meets someone who asks hard questions, makes her laugh, and notices her wrinkles. The mood moves from sadness and numbness to something gentle and earned. Both of them have lived whole lives with parts of themselves stored elsewhere, and in the end they are no longer waiting, which feels like peace.