Lyric discussion by im_a_pirate 

Cover art for Reverie/Harlequin Forest lyrics by Opeth

It seems no one has taken into account the name of the song. Reverie/Harlequin Forest. No one is taking it in a literal sense. You're all probably right about a guy being exiled from his home, but I think that the guy was exiled to a "haunted" forest around his home. And Reverie, to my knowledge anyway, means a good dream, or a soothing dream of some sort.