Reflecting on the fundamental force that runs through the universe, the speaker considers different possibilities for what, exactly, this force might be. In doing so, the speaker alludes to a range of possibilities—from biblical narratives and Christian ideas to the vast emptiness of space.
The first notable allusion appears in the second stanza ("Maybe the mother [...] inherit approach"), when the speaker imagines that if the children scream loudly enough, the entire apartment building will "lift off, and we’ll ride to glory / Like Elijah.” Here, the speaker refers to the prophet Elijah from the Old Testament. According to the biblical story, Elijah was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, riding “to glory” in flames. Through this allusion, the speaker suggests that the children are, in a certain sense, prophets, since through their screams they call forth something like heaven.
As this stanza progresses, the speaker imagines the sky shifting “from blue, to red, to molten gold, / To black.” This dramatic imagery creates a subtle allusion to the Book of Revelation, which is the last portion of the New Testament. In this part of the Bible, the world as it is currently known comes to an apocalyptic end with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The word "apocalypse" can be interpreted as the revealing of a prophecy or heavenly mystery. This allusion, then, helps the speaker suggest that the children's screaming evokes profound truths about existence.
The speaker continues to allude to the Bible in stanza 3 ("Whether it is [...] How mean"), imagining that this all-powerful force might take the form of “our dead in Old Testament robes.” This idea references biblical narratives about angels approaching human beings, since visual depictions of these narratives often show the angels dressed in robes.
In line 21 ("Whether it [...] a father"), the speaker imagines the primal force as a "father" who might benevolently “bend down to greet us.” This is an allusion to the Christian idea of God as a father. In the next line, however, the speaker imagines the greater power as nothing more than a “furnace” that might “swallow us” the way a stove would burn up wood. This alludes to biblical ideas of the fires of hell.
Lastly, the speaker says the children are screaming:
[...] as if something
They have no name for has begun to insist
Upon being born.
Here, the speaker alludes again to the Second Coming of Christ. According to the Bible, in the future Christ will return to earth (or be born again) and this “second coming” will signal the Judgement Day, when the Kingdom of Heaven is created on earth. This last allusion, then, conveys the powerful sense of urgency within the poem. It implies that however much people might try to ignore all that is unknown and mysterious in human life and the universe, this primal force is in fact always present, and everyone will have to reckon with it sooner or later.