The poem transforms in the mind of the speaker where the eternal nightmare lives. The second verse gives the reader an idea of ​​how horrific the actual battle scenes are; however, the difference between the actual battlefield and the speaker's mind remains invisible. In this way, Owen is saying that there is no difference between the frightening scenes of wartime and the traumatized mind of the soldier afterwards. This is because the soldier's mind is incapable of leaving the battlefield; images will forever be part of the brain. In the second stanza, when the speaker cries, "In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He dives upon me, dripping, choking, drowning," it is problematic to discern whether the speaker is in battle or looking back.