The recurring themes in the collection include:
- Childhood: The poet often draws on his childhood memories to explore the theme of innocence, nostalgia, and the passage of time.
- Mortality: The poet contemplates the fleeting nature of life and art and the inevitability of death, especially in the face of the beauty of the Caribbean landscape.
- Cultural Identity: Walcott's poems explore his complex cultural identity as a person of mixed race living in a postcolonial society, and his search for a sense of belonging.
- Loss and Absence: The collection is marked by a sense of loss and absence, both personal and collective, as Walcott reflects on the passing of time and the changes that have occurred in the Caribbean.
- Nature and Landscape: The vivid depictions of the Caribbean landscape, particularly of the sea, serve as a backdrop for the poet's meditations on life, death, and the creative process.
- Art and Poetry: Walcott reflects on the role of art and poetry in preserving memory and experience and in confronting the complexities of existence.