hand |"the hand" (line 1) means that a powerful person has signed
a declaration of war. That "hand" has unleashed an army against an
unprepared country. The consequence of this action appears to be the
death of a king and the questionable slaughter of many of his people.
Those who conducted the slaughter were motivated by no other reason than
that the necessary signature appeared on " the paper."

paper| "the paper," (line 1) a simple term, referring to an ordinary
piece of paper, highlights the fact that onced signed it becomes
unbelievably harmful in terms of the level of destruction it has
caused.

felled| "felled a city" (line 1) normally the word would refer to the
cutting down or felling of a tree which once accomplished can result in
a useful by-product but leaves behind an organism that cannot grow
again. The effective use of "felled" suggests the sudden as well as
complete (and possibly irreversible) destruction of the city.

sovereign| "five sovereign fingers" (line 2) leads us to where power
resides. The frightening point is that it is not simply that one
individual or "hand" hold real power, but rather it is five "little"
appendages/fingers that hold true power. The word "sovereign" meaning
having dominant and independent authority emphasizes the perception
that the power of the "five sovereign fingers" was, in fact, unlimited.

taxed| "taxed the breath" (line 2) uses the verb "to tax" meaning to
levy a tax on; charge, accuse; put under pressure refers to the
horrible strain placed on the soldiers participating in the attack.

globe| "globe" (line 3) a spherical representation of the earth ;
alludes to the far-reaching outcome of one man's actions.

sloping| as in (line 5) "The mighty hand that leads to the sloping
shoulder"; slope meaning slant or incline. This line suggests that this
man is tired and worn out after launching his ambitious campaign.

cramped| "The finger joints cramped with chalk" (line 6); cramp a sudden
painful contraction of the muscle; this line reveals that the leader's
hand had become terribly cramped because he had been so busy drawing and
mapping out plans of battle.

hand| "The hand that signed the treaty..." (line 9) refers to the second
hand which was able to put an end to the carnage by simply signing a
peace treaty, thereby, ending what was started by the first hand.

bred, fever, locusts| (lines 9 and 10) arouse a feeling of bitterness
and dismay felt by the poet in the aftermath of the war. the reader must
feel some kind of anger at the complete destruction of a country.

scribbled| "scribbled name" (line 12); scribble, meaning to write
hastily or carelessly; these words show that a hastily signed name was
oblivious of the consequences of its actions.

crusted| "The five kings count the dead but do not soften the crusted
wound nor pat the brow" (line 14); crust, meaning a hard surface layer;
this line refers to how the hand (he) adds up the casualties without
displaying any emotion or willingness to do something to ease the pain
and suffering it(he) has caused.

rules| "as a hand rules heaven " (line 15) suggests that the
omnipotent(all-powerful) hand even plays a role in governing heaven by
the fact that he has dispatched so many soldiers there by his will
alone.

tears| "Hands have no tears to flow" (line 16); the final line closes
with the thought that the slaughter of people and destruction of a
country was caused not by his mind but simply by a man's hand.

Thomas' poem is an expression of both extreme horror and amazement at the power a single individual is capable of wielding. In the context of how states or groups interact with one another on the world stage , Thomas questions how is it possible that such destructive and supreme power can be exploited by a single individual who symbolizes those in a position of leadership over others. The poem causes us to feel a sense of bitterness about those who exercise the kind of power and influence over many that is described in the poem. Along with a feeling of bitterness the poet is also expressing a strong element of fear. The fear is expressed in terms of the possibility that the same fearful consequences that befell others could be faced by not only himself, but by his family, friends and fellow-citizens as well.

邱吉尔说:失去的永远不会比手上现在握住的多