The speaker of this poem has walked around at night a lot. He's walked both away and back to somewhere, probably home, in the rain. He's walked in the city, and beyond the lights, perhaps out of the city, and he's looked down lonely, dark streets.
He has walked by a watchman, but didn't look at him because he didn't want to explain why he was there, not even with a glance. He's stopped to listen to a voice calling out from another street, falsely hoping that it was calling for him.
The speaker looks up at a "luminary clock," which is probably the moon, but was dissatisfied with the time it showed. He ends by referring back to the first line of the poem, emphasizing that he has been acquainted with the night.