Frances Cornford imagines a dream in which God rearranges the world into two armies: the Philistines and the Bohemians. She speaks warmly about the Philistines, whose gods are Duty, Obedience, Self-sacrifice, and Common-sense. They are decent, steady, and untroubled, and she says she honours them. But she also admits their ways are not for her. Her heart pulls her toward the Bohemians—the reckless, passionate, often wrong people who plunge and stray and strive. What makes them irresistible to her is not their virtue but their aliveness. Love and hate wound them deeply, yet their longings create things; even their worst sins can flower into songs.
The mood is tender, ironic, and a little defiant. It feels like a confession of where the speaker truly belongs, made with affection for the safer life she is leaving behind and excitement about the risky, creative one she chooses.