Either the boat was sinking or it was drifting far from the shore. Alas, what misfortune, even when the wind turned, it blew in the wrong direction.

Here, the poet compares life to a fragile boat caught in a stormy sea, caught between the fear of drowning and drifting helplessly away from the safety of the shore. Just when a glimmer of hope appears and the winds finally shift, they blow in the exact opposite direction, driving the wanderer even further from relief. It touches on that heartbreaking despair where even destiny's turn ends up working against you.