Someone has walked away, and the speaker can't follow suit. The poem is built on a lopsided picture: one person releases their grip, while the other clings harder than ever. The rope is the bond between them, and the speaker seems to be the only one still pulling on it.
The most telling moment is the line about burning the rope. Even if the connection were destroyed, the speaker says, they would still be holding on. That suggests a loyalty or attachment that has outlived the thing it was attached to. It could be stubborn love, or it could be an inability to accept that something is over. The poem doesn't say which.
The mood is raw and quiet at once. There's pain here, but also a kind of desperate devotion. The dash at the end leaves the thought hanging, as if the speaker is still gripping on, with no resolution in sight.