The poem tells the story of a selkie, a mythical seal creature that can shed its skin to take human form. The selkie feels torn between her life on land and in the sea. She longs for her home in the sea, represented by the Minch, but is confined to land where her skin is hidden. When her season arrives, she returns to the sea to be reunited with her lover and freedom, shedding her human form and keening for the call of the sea.