The poem A Small Pain in My Chest begins with a soldier boy calling the narrator and asking his help. The narrator approaches the injured soldier boy and extends his help by offering him some water. After that that two have a conversation about how the boy got injured in war last night. The soldier boy expresses his feelings and thoughts in the course of the chat. But he could not survive his injuries that he calls “a small pain” in his chest, and finally died. The narrator was shocked at his death.

So, the poem is all about a soldier’s confessions, thoughts and feelings before death, and the narrator’s feelings at his death. Through this poem, the poet actually wants to evoke the pity of war in our minds and raise a war against war. The poem is an anti-war poem.