The essay is of a critical appreciation of an unseen poem, taken from The Lorca Variations, entitled "In A Time Of War".

The title of Rothenberg's poem "In a Time of War" seems to encapsulate the poem's subject-matter, written with uncomplicated words of the English vocabulary makes the poem stand out in a stark manner. This method is used by Rothenberg to illustrate to readers exactly how he sees war, as it is. One outstanding feature of this poem is its structure. Rothenberg appears to want to isolate the first stanza from the rest of the poem. …

…stanza seven where Rothenberg cautions us of the unpredictability of war. And if we fail to take his advice in hand, we return to the state that stanza one illustrates. The poem may have ended with stanza seven, but Rothenberg has cleverly twisted it. A vicious cycle is formed, if humans refuse to prevent war, "another war" will always emerge. The poem is overall an excellent portrayal of the world "in a time of war."