This poem is inspired by Brian Turner's time as a soldier fighting in the Iraq war. Yet it can apply to anyone experiencing a moment of transcendence in the face of death. Turner is sort of having an unsettling conversation with a bullet in this poem. The bullet is personified and represents the bloodthirsty nature of death. He speaks as though he offers his body as a sacrifice unto the bullet, realizing the dissatisfaction of its mortality. This is apparent where he says "if a body is what you want, then here is bone and gristle and flesh," although it's not explicitly stated. He further emphasizes this vulnerability in the following lines, which provides a deeper sense of mayhem.
Turner uses highly descriptive language to paint a vivid picture in readers' minds about the vulnerability of the human body. It's to the extent where one may need to research anatomy terminology for the sake of clarity, such as "clavicle," "aorta," and "synaptic gap." More importantly, he conveys his strength to overcome the bullet's power to destroy. Yet this strength is from within - of the spirit and soul. In the context of being an Iraq war soldier, it's as if he has put an end to the conflict between himself and the plight that war brings, in the latter half. This is where the transcendence enters, highlighting the eternal fortitude of spirituality.
