Tichborne wrote this poem on the eve of his execution for his involvement in the Babington Plot. In the poem, he uses metaphors to express his despair over his life ending so young, with so much left unlived. He describes his youth slipping away like a frost, and his life being cut short like a thread before it's fully spun. The poem conveys Tichborne's sadness at his prime being cut short and dying with so much of his life remaining.