Love's Austere and Lonely Offices

"What did i know? What did i know of love's austere and lonely offices?" asks the poet. Offices, I think here, as instod of duties, services done for another person. The way that his dad's activities, his daily work, hi's getting the house warmest, polishing shoes, maybe they're a kind of prayer. Prayers are about love, so are these every day, sort of domestic knots and bolts activities.