Essay topic (deciphering poetry)..Too confusing

Poem- Dry Loaf

It is equal to living in a tragic land
To live in a tragic time
regard now the sloping, moutainious rocks
and the river that batters its way over stones,
regard the hovels of those that live in this land

That was what I painted behind the loaf,
The rocks not even touched by snow,
the pines along the river and the dry men blown
Brown as the bread, thinking of birds
Flying from burning countries and brown sand shores.

Birds that came like dirty water in waves
Flowing above the rocks, flowing over the sky,
As if the sky was a current that bore them along,
spreading them as waves spread flat on the shore,
One after another washing the mountain bare.

It was the battering of drums i heard
It was hunger, it was the hungry that cried
and the waves were soldiers moving,
Marching and marching in a tragic time
Below me, on the asphalt, under the trees.

It was soldiers went marching over the rocks
And still the bird came, came in watery flocks,
Because it was spring and the bird had to come.
No doubt that soldier had to be marching
And that drums had to be rolling, rolling, rolling.

Assignment: What do this text suggest to you about the role self-respect plays in an individual's response to injustice? Support your idea(s) and make a reference to the text.

My questions: I truly don't even get what the poem is saying, all I know is it involve with wars and soldiers, please help me decipher this poem and help me relate with the essay topic.

Greetings!

Deciphering poetry can be difficult! There are some clues, though, in the word choices the author made, that speak to the idea of self-respect (or lack of it) and injustice:

a tragic land - this says a lot about how the poem's narrator sees the country

regard the hovels of those that live in this land - notice they are "hovels" and not "homes"

Flying from burning countries - a suggestion here that the country has been savaged

It was hunger, it was the hungry that cried - more tragic description of the pitiful state of the people

Look through the poem carefully for more clues about injustice and self-esteem. I hope this helps get you started!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com