The poem opens with the statement that the Earth we see is not the entirety of the human experience: “this World is not Conclusion” (Line 1). Death does not end human existence: It may conclude the time on Earth, but it will also grants entrance into the next world, or Heaven, to join the mysterious, spiritual “species” that “stands beyond” (Line 2). However, the speaker is confident of little else besides the fact that eternal life in Heaven exists.

Subsequent lines attempts to explain the nature of the eternal afterlife and its effect on human beings in this world. Although the next world is as definite and “positive” as “Sound” (Line 4), it is also as “Invisible” as “Music” (Line 3)—in other words, perceptible to only some of the senses, intangible but definitely extant. The speaker employs similes to depict eternity, which defies direct description and can only be compared to Earth concepts like sound and music. Although eternity is invisible and unknowable, the speaker can still be confident that it exists just as purely auditory phenomena exist.

Nevertheless, eternity remains a mystery for everyone. The idea of Heaven both “beckons” and “baffles” (Line 5) the enquiring mind, no matter how elevated.