The beginning of the poem is charged with a tones accusation, tension and conflict. The direct title ‘You who would wage war against me’ is personalizing a major disagreement that is certainly significant to the narrator.

The narrator is so infused with violence that s/he is aware that they have lost control ‘I do not trust my hands’ and the lack of regular punctuation suggests that the narrator is beyond focusing on conformity. The use of free verse supports this idea also

By saying-

 ‘i am surprised you cannot see
the danger burning brightly in my eyes’

The narrator further expresses frustration that the other person is seemingly unaware of the turmoil s/he is experiencing.

The defiant, violent and desperate initial tone of the initial stanzas of the poem shifts by the fifth stanza at the entrance of the narrator’s daughter ‘frightened by what she cannot see’. The narrator is calmed as s/he clings to the daughter, feeling her heartbeat and realising that there are other, more important channels for such energy. The original conflict has faded with the desire to nurture and protect the daughter.‘i have forgotten us for our stupid little war.’

The final stanza expresses a revelation that the narrator will never be as moved by anger as s/he is moved by the bond with the child. There is now a calmer tone (although the ‘incandescent light’ still suggests an aggressive power) as the narrator recognized the value of family over conflict.