A speaker wanders back to his old home at dawn and finds nothing changed. The yard, the stones and the paths are as he left them, and mist lies over the sleeping fields. He notices that his brother's work has survived the night frost, which suggests the brother stayed and kept the place going. The scene feels like a happy dream: no voices, the aspens still, only the old weathervane and the sound of foals' hooves in the stable.
For most of the poem the mood is calm, tender and nostalgic. The speaker marvels at how peaceful and secure it all is, and admits it was once his own life too. That "once" hints at distance. Then the cock crows, and everything shifts. He shudders as if he had lied, and he weeps, comparing himself to Peter. The reference to Peter, who denied Jesus before the cock crowed, suggests he feels he betrayed or abandoned this place, and perhaps the people in it. The gentle morning ends in quiet remorse.