The title points back to the old myth of Eros and Psyche, in which Psyche lifts a light to look at her lover, but here the roles are turned around. The speaker is the one in the grave, dead and hollowed out, while the visitor opens the lid out of what the poem calls "morbid curiosity." The torch lights up the visitor's beautiful face and the speaker's lifeless eyes, and the contrast is stark.
The visitor speaks in paradoxes. "Life is a betrayal of death" suggests that coming back to life means leaving something peaceful behind. Still, the speaker is told to trust and rise. The tone is hushed and eerie, yet tender, with the kiss on the eyelids feeling almost like a blessing. Then the ending turns. A spark lands on the shroud, and "the dream of love drifted skyward." Judging by these lines, the rescue may burn away or vanish, leaving a mood of longing and loss rather than a real resurrection.