The Speaker is a deeply reflective individual recounting a chaste but emotionally significant moment shared with a companion in a New England winter forest. Feeling alienated and lonely, the Speaker uses the surrounding environment of transplanted Norwegian trees as a mirror for their own sense of being out of place. The Speaker struggles with the pain of an unspoken connection and the urgency to preserve their shared memory before time erases it.

The Beloved is the unnamed recipient of the Speaker's affections and their companion during the winter walk in the false New England forest. Sleeping in a separate single bed, the Beloved remains physically distanced from the Speaker despite their shared emotional intensity. The Beloved provides a deep, albeit fleeting, sense of home for the Speaker within the confines of a restricted relationship.