The poem follows one day at the coast, from a rainbow near noon to the quiet of a night after ten. The title suggests a ride back at dusk, but the poem itself stays with the landscape: a storm has passed, the grass stands up fresh, and the tide works at the shore, wave after wave, rubbing the stones along the bay.
As the light fades, the speaker's attention narrows to small things. A cloud slips off, a tree shows black against the rock, a dead flower peels back its anthers, and a June bug wanders down the slope of the falls. The speaker seems calm and watchful rather than sad. Even the dead bell flower is described with close, almost tender attention.
The mood is hushed but alert. The language is knotty and physical, full of verbs like "snaps," "worries," and "tweaked," so the scene feels busy even as it settles. The last image, a skiff plonking against the water, leaves the night stiff, still, and full of small sounds.