The poem begins with the first-person pronoun “We” (Line 1), which creates a tone of unity and solidarity between the speaker and the reader. The opening lines establish the idea that our Earth is insubstantial and irrelevant in the grand scheme of the universe. The world is described as “lonely” (Line 1), while the celestial bodies are “aloof” and “indifferent” (Line 3)—imagery that enhances the feeling of a grand empty space around the planet. However, this isolation also reminds the reader that we, humanity, are all we have. The first stanza closes with the poem’s title, “A brave and startling truth” (Line 6), essentially creating a thesis statement on which the rest of the poem is built.

The second and third stanzas juxtapose peace and warfare to illustrate why the poem’s core message is so important. While the descriptions of war are suitably horrific, there is an underlying theme of equality throughout these experiences: “[O]ur unique and particular sons and daughters […] lie in identical plots in foreign soil” (Lines 16, 18). This highlights the futility of war, and the idea that both victors and victims eventually succumb to the same human mortality. From these depths of suffering, the speaker segues to the hope of a more optimistic future: “the good, clean breeze” (Line 23); “flags of truce” (Line 26); and “evenings of peace” (Line 28).