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In this poem an Irish airman weighs up his reasons for taking to the skies to fight the enemy.

The war he writes about is World War One, when the Allied forces fought a combined army led by Germany.

The soldier in the poem is all too aware that he will die fighting - "I know that I shall meet my fate / Somewhere among the clouds above" - and yet he seems willing to accept this.

The poem has an unusual perspective in that this airman feels no sense of duty to those he fights or guards. The issue of patriotism is not what drives him into battle and he does not identify with those who sent him to fight.

Rather, he identifies himself with the people of Kiltartan Cross, a village in County Galway.

The question of national identity is important to the poem as it suggests a sense of apathy towards Britain and its enemies.

The soldier does not desire to fight on Britain’s behalf. He wants to follow "a lonely impulse of delight".

He seems to desire this as the act of flight itself is above any political or moral duty.

The airman is ultimately resigned to death because he feels that the "years to come seemed waste of breath, / A waste of breath the years behind".