The first-person voice of the poem is a rattled, impassioned observer of a burning rose garden. Experiencing intense emotional and spiritual intoxication, the speaker gives direct commands to their companion. Driven by an overwhelming desire that is both physical and spiritual, the speaker willingly faces a metaphorical death in the fire.

The implied "you" addressed throughout the poem functions as the speaker's earthly object of affection. This figure is tasked with bringing wine to quench the fire of desire, an act that fails and feeds the flames instead. They share in the speaker's fate, perishing together in the symbolic fire.

In the Sufi tradition that informs the poem, this figure represents God as the ultimate recipient of love. Existing beyond the earthly garden, this transcendent presence is the true focus of the speaker's spiritual journey. Union with this figure requires the metaphorical destruction of the earthly self.