The speaker drifts through a dreamlike countryside of sunken lanes, stone walls and cottages at twilight, and there he sees a figure from his first love. She is dressed in crimson, the colour of winter berries, and seems to stand out against the darkening hedgerow. She offers him a "winter schoolday prize," which suggests how young and innocent the feeling was.
But the landscape keeps closing in. A wood turns the hill black and brings on an early night, and a fair below shakes with cheap, glittering light. The river, the bridges and the "trounced" day bellowing under an arch make the scene feel loud and a little threatening.
The ending is the sad part. She has "escaped," and all he is left with is a "discoloured rhythm," a faded echo of something once vivid. The mood is nostalgic and dusky, mixing warmth with loss. The poem suggests that first love can be seen again in dreams but never held.