A Brave And Startling Truth

Depictions of the Earth are a recurring motif throughout the poem, acting as cornerstones that hold the key message together. In the opening stanza, the speaker invites the reader in by saying “We, this people, on a small and lonely planet / Traveling through casual space” (Lines 1-2). They frame Earth as something small and insignificant within the universe. Each refrain that repeats this construction echoes this idea with slight changes in the exact image of the isolated planet presented: “We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe” (Line 49), “We, this people, on this mote of matter” (Line 52), “We, this people, on this small and drifting planet” (Line 59), and “We, this people, on this wayward, floating body” (Line 68).

In each case, the people populating the Earth remain consistently the same, but while the speaker offers us different ways of looking at our world, the descriptions never waver: Our planet is tiny, alone, and meaningless in the greater scheme of existence. In other words, to make meaning of our existence, all we have is each other. The perceived slights between individuals, cultures, or countries can only detract from what should be our greater project—creating whatever importance we can as human beings inhabiting the same miraculous chunk of rock.