The lover, perhaps a male, though it is never specified, must traverse a "grey sea" in order to arrive at the "cove" where he can dock the boat on which he has traveled. Once he makes it to land, he must cross a "mile of warm sea-scented beach" and "three fields" before he gets to the farm where his lover lives. He taps at her window, and she—presumably—lights a match with which to light a lamp or a candle so that they can see one another. The scenes depicted in the first part of the poem are rich with visual imagery, with colorful descriptions of the sea, the land, the moon, and the waves that reflect the moon's yellow light so that they appear to be fiery. The scenes depicted in the second part of the poem, however, possess many different kinds of imagery, and this makes it incredibly vibrant—perhaps echoing the feelings of the lovers when they finally unite. There are olfactory, auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic images that combine to express the lovers' joy.