The speaker addresses themselves like an old acquaintance, someone they've known a long time but are only now seeing clearly. The poem turns on a before and after. Earlier, the speaker thought of that self as a "purgatory," a place of waiting and discomfort, a life stuck in between. Now something has shifted, and the speaker can see the difference.
The second stanza explains the change through an image: an owlet has become an owl. The young, clumsy creature has grown into the bird we associate with wisdom, "informed in the state of things." The closing line adds a gentle joke. Owls are creatures of the night, so seeming wise "even by daylight" suggests the speaker's new understanding holds up in ordinary, everyday life, not just in dark or troubled moments.
The mood is quiet, wry, and settled. There's relief here, and some self-forgiveness, but the tone stays modest. The speaker only says they "might seem" wise, which keeps the growth believable. The title, "Woke," plays on waking up in a more personal sense.