In the poem, a soldier painstakingly makes his way along a dark tunnel fifty feet below a battle taking place overhead. The light from the soldier's torch makes out vague shapes of objects that give evidence of the life other soldiers had to create down in the tunnel.
The soldier trips, and as he grabs the wall to steady himself, he sees someone lying at his feet. The soldier tries to rouse the sleeping person, tugging the person's arm and speaking. In bitter frustration at the lack of reply, the soldier kicks the person, who is revealed to be dead.
The soldier staggers on until he finds a hint of fresh air. At last, he steps above ground, and the torturous weight of his experience in the tunnel begins to lift.
