Galway Kinnell received the inspiration for this poem watching Strategic Air Command (SAC) bomber vapor trails while bathing outside his Vermont home. In March 1969, President Nixon secretly expanded the bombing campaign into neutral Cambodia. Two months later, the New York Times revealed the illegal expansion of the war to the public.

It is likely Kinnell saw B-52 bombers headed to the Arctic Circle rather than bombers used for combat in Vietnam. Bombers circling the North Pole composed one leg of the Cold War nuclear deterrence triad and Mutually Assured Destruction policy.

Many of Maitin’s politically themed artworks expressed his views about the world around him. He was often inspired by reading stories about war, poverty, and injustice. The colors grow darker down the page, reflecting the poems mood and violent words.