The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might: He did his very best to make The billows smooth and bright-- And this was odd, because it was The middle of the night. The moon was shining sulkily, Because she thought the sun Had got no business to be there After the day was done-- "It's very rude of him," she said, "To come and spoil the fun!" The sea was wet as wet could be, The sands were dry as dry. You could not see a cloud, because No cloud was in the sky: No birds were flying overhead-- There were no birds to fly. In a Wonderland they lie Dreaming as the days go by, Dreaming as the summer die.
The excerpt describes a surreal scene where the sun shines brightly over the sea during what should be nighttime. The sun appears to be doing its best to brighten the waves, which is unusual because it is actually the middle of the night. Meanwhile, the moon is depicted as sulky and annoyed, feeling that the sun has no right to be there after the day has ended, calling its presence rude and spoilage of the night.
"In a Wonderland they lie, dreaming as the days go by, dreaming as the summer die," the poem evokes a dreamlike, fantastical atmosphere where natural order is whimsically disrupted. The sea is incredibly wet, the sands are dry, and the sky is clear of clouds and birds, emphasizing a surreal, calm, yet odd environment characteristic of Wonderland's imaginative world.
