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.