The poet states that though they are outnumbered they must be brave and stand firm to their persecutions that will in turn kill their foes in spirit. He reminds them that they really have no other choice and their punishment could be no worse than they are already receiving. "What though before us lies the open grave?"
McKay turns the table by calling his people the true men and the persecutors the "murderous, cowardly pack". His people will fight even when they know they are defeated. "Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!"
McKay's poem reveals a fighting spirit and a will to live although the odds were stacked against