The unmentionable odor of death / Offends the September night.
-- Speaker (Lines 10 – 11 )

Importance: While it is possible to interpret the end of the first stanza as a simple tribute to the many lives lost in the invasion of Poland, the ambiguous descriptors "unmentionable" and "offend" hint at the speaker's deeper satirical agenda. Even a protracted, fatal world war cannot succeed in stripping modern men of their defensive facades and self-serving optimism. It is gauche and socially dangerous, the speaker implies, to "mention" the politically "offensive" truth of imperialism’s failure. Any man who knowingly pulls the cover from his eyes sacrifices comforting, blissful ignorance for the collective well-being (99). The speaker advises citizens of all nations to outwardly acknowledge their moral and political misdeeds before meaningful resolution becomes impossible.

Exiled Thucydides knew / All that a speech can say / About democracy.
-- Speaker (Lines 23 – 25)

Importance: Here, the speaker draws a connection between the mid-century rise of fascism and historical attacks...