Explain the inclusion of the Sara Teasdale poem in this story.

Bradbury could have simply chosen to allude to the poem through his title, but he also chooses to include the text of Teasdale's poem. In one of the story's most ironic moments, the house recites this poem for its absent owners. The poem's main point is that eventually humans will end themselves through war and that nature will be indifferent. Since the McClellans have, in fact, been ended by war, the recitation of the poem is a form of dark humor.