On the face of it, the poem is about the poet's experienc in a forest, and how, contrary to the popular notion that nature is a place of tranquility and beauty, finds that even the trees are in struggle with each other. The poet decides that it is better to be among people than trees, since people at least smile and talk, and, sometimes, offer "life loyalties."

The poet, "city-opresst," comes to the forest "as to a nest," hoping to find "sylvan peace." This is in keeping with the Romantic notion of nature as a place of spiritual purity, and a place where the poet can achieve a kind of unity with creation. What the poem shows, however, is that nature is indifferent to man. There is no "nest" for the poet in the woods. Instead, what he finds is strife: having "entered in" to the woods, he finds that the trees are "combatants all," each striving with the next for survival. The "sycamore shoulders oak," and "ivy-spun halters choke / Elms stout and tall."

Faced with this strife, the poet decides to return to human society. There is a sense of irony in this decision; since the trees cannot teach the poet any "grace," he returns to "his kind," humans, who are "worthy as these," meaning that he finds humans to be as worthy (or unworthy) as the trees. The "life loyalties" the poet might find "now and then" among humans suggests that however one might feel about nature, only humans, bad as they are, can offer true friendship.