The poem seems to be upside down or back to front.
Instead of starting with a question and then answering it, it moves from exclamation marks at the start to question marks at the end.
Statements and questions are delivered with equal force.
The questions are described as being a "fusillade" - which is a round of bullets fired by several guns at once. The point Carson seems to be making is that under these conditions language is impossible.
He notes that the riot police have Saracen tanks, wire and "Makrolon face-shields" - while the rioters only have nuts and bolts and nails and car-keys.
As a poet, all Carson has is words. The weakness and limitations of these distresses him.
Where Carson finally succeeds is in expressing this confusion.
