In the third stanza, for example, he fills his mind with images from the natural world, far removed from the chaos around him. The thought of a starry sky, in its vast and still serenity, creates a calming influence. It suggests lofty thoughts of infinity, which lead the poet to contemplate mathematical concepts ("non-Euclidean space"), which, because of their order and unchanging nature, stand in stark contrast to the turbulence of human affairs. Even the images of the amoeba and the mounds of termites suggest the possibility of a kind of detachment gained through the contemplation of the microscopic and insect worlds that go about their business undisturbed by apocalyptic human disasters.
Song of a Citizen