“Cold Clockwork”
The soldier equates his duty to a hand on a clock moving to serve the larger purpose of the motor. Akin to a cog in a machine the soldier is just but a trivial part of the grand scheme of warfare. He plays his part like any other combatant to accomplish the agenda of the flag and defend it with his life. The cold alludes to the lack of autonomy in this machine that runs on policies made by political forces.
The Rifle
In the first stanza, the speaker describes the gun rifle to be as heavy akin to a numb appendage. It alludes to the soldier's current mindset about violence and war in general, in that he is disillusioned by the conflict. The patriotic duty feels heavy and unbearable than it previously was due to the fear and confusion in warfare. He acknowledges the fading sense of duty to the nation for terror runs his universe now.
“Yellow hare”
Briefly, the focus shifts to a petrified yellow hare that is startled from its habitat by the sound of ordnances. The central figure observes a resemblance between him and the hare from the sense of fear that is overriding his patriotism. The yellow hare symbolizes the state of mind of the soldier in the middle of a chaotic and violent confrontation. In seeing himself in the hare the soldier takes another recourse to avoid the same fate as the animal.
“Stars and the nations”
On his role in the war, the soldier refers to it as a sense of duty that is beyond his control. The stars suggest the destiny or fate that was carved during his birth dictating his current service in the war. The nation refers to the patriotic duty to the country that demands his participation in defending the flag. Thus, the two represent the deterministic forces that govern his calling hence lack free will or control over his life.
Shell shock
The poem incorporates sensory imagery to illustrate the vulnerability and panic experienced by the soldier. The speaker describes the sense of fear that disorients the central figure akin to the yellow hare he encounters. This soldier experiences the fight or flight responses oscillating between both in a state of helplessness. The description of the yellow hare indicates the emotional turmoil of a shell-shocked combatant as the central character could shortly experience.
