The poem takes place at a local pond that the speaker regularly visits over the years. This pond begins as a site of biodiversity and connection. Different species inhabit this place, and the speaker especially resonates with the carp that undulate, glide, and propel themselves through the water. Summer heat languishes their movement, but "autumn brisk" renews their vigor (6). However, the torrid heat and lack of rainfall one particularly hot summer kill the carp. Drought reduces the pond to barren mud. When rain finally falls it cannot return the pond to its former vitality. Whereas the speaker used to sit and contemplate his reflection in relation to the life and light inside the pond, he now drowns in isolation.