This poem is about a person, who is in their home and that person is describing what she sees out side in the dark. The poet uses the first word that comes to the poets mind to describe what the poet sees outside. Imtiaz Dharker uses words like terrorist, freedom fighter, hostile militant and guerilla warrior. This poem was written post 9/11. The poet uses the words wavering flag. Flag is a word used to show a persons identity, territory and nationality. If someone were to wave a flag like the Kosovan flag, it could show that, that person supports a team or group. However the mood of the poem changes when Dharker changes the word to a boy. She becomes less afraid and decides to let him in to this building she is in, pressumably her home. The way the poem uses emotion is through her feelings as she describes what she sees outside. When she thinks she sees a terrorist, she is scared. When she thinks she sees a freedom fighter, she feels less afraid than before. When she thinks she sees a hostile militant, she goes back to having a sense of fear. Finnaly when she sees a gurriella soldier, her fear is the same. However the atmosphere all changes when she sees a boy. It changes in the way that she is not afraid anymore of whats out there. She describes the boy to be like her own son or someone elses son. She calls him a martyr as well. Because she is not afraid of this boy she decides to let him in.