The poem is thematically a post-colonial one that draws on stylistic aspects from the modernist tradition. Written in nine couplets, its language and structure operate on dual levels catering for both 'quick' readings that evoke direct feeling and more deliberated 'slow' readings, which in absorbing an historical sense deeper emphasises timeless temporal presence. Muldoon critic John Redmond suggests that the 'quick' and the 'slow' are 'the most desirable ' when considered together and in relation to one another.[citation needed]