// But how could you know, brave
as belief as you boarded the boats, singing?
The end of God in the poisonous, shrapneled air.
Poetry gargling its own blood.//
Those few lines resonate for me Tills. The kernel of the composition.
I feel that they did know. These were not stupid men, but men that could hide their dread behind hopes of home or at least remembrance. We that can discern this must always pay quiet homage, and ignore the shallow of belief, regard, and civility.