“Fortune” here may denote wealth, suggesting a state of literal poverty. “Fortune” may refer to the “Rota Fortunae” or “wheel of fortune,” a conception of fate popular in Roman and medieval Europe. The wheel symbolizes the fickleness and unpredictability of fate. As the wheel turns, one can experience sudden shifts in circumstance, whether it be a blessing or a hardship. From this perspective, one can see the poem’s events as tracing the wheel’s turn from low to high.
