Watching a sunset sets off the same daydream again and again in this short poem. The speaker pictures a tree house in the tallest tree, sleeping under the stars, and later a life in the wild, built from scratch and far from other people. Each time, the wish begins with the same words, "Sometimes I look at a sunset / And wish I could be," which makes the poem feel like a thought the speaker returns to often.
The wishes get bigger as the poem goes on. First comes a cozy, almost childlike image, then the more serious hope of a place where "no one would judge me." That line suggests the speaker feels watched or pressured by others, and wants escape from it. The final stanza strips everything back to a single word, "Free," standing alone. The mood is quiet, wistful and a little lonely, but also hopeful. The sunset seems to give the speaker a moment of calm in which that freedom feels possible.