The poem begins with an admission of loss. The speaker says he is defeated and changed, that he believes less and hopes little. There is no drama in how he says it, just a plain, tired honesty. Then the scene widens into ordinary life: his wife is in her garden, and he goes to his "thinking place" by the sea. The two of them are close but apart, each in their own space.
The mood shifts at the end. The word "sea" is repeated, as if the speaker is standing there and letting it fill his attention. Then comes a surprising image: "an angel falling into being / here / now." The short lines slow everything down. The angel isn't descending from somewhere grand. It arrives right where he is, in this moment. The title, "Renewal," suggests that after giving up much of his belief and hope, he finds something new, quiet and unexpected, simply by paying attention to the present. The feeling is subdued, but it ends with a small sense of wonder.