The speaker of the poem is an individual who currently enjoys financial stability but spends time reflecting on her past struggles with poverty. She recalls living on minimal sustenance, specifically coffee and bread, and enduring constant hunger while waiting for payday. Her memories are colored with nostalgia for the brief moments of sensory pleasure she could afford, remembering the extreme satisfaction of a simple meal.

An imagined persona conjured to illustrate the elusive nature of money. This figure represents an unreliable romantic partner who steps out on the mundane errand of buying milk, only to disappear forever.

A figurative persona who lives in a village without a well. She must make long, arduous journeys simply to find water to survive. The poem uses her exhaustive search for basic necessities as a direct parallel to the exhaustion of living paycheck to paycheck.