Written in short, three-line stanzas, "Stepping stones" argues that every civilization rests on the people who came before it. The poem starts with ancient objects like engraved jade and prophecies, then turns darker: great works of art come from nightmares, and soldiers march over corpses. From there the idea widens. Cities rise on the ashes of other cities, and the dead become our foundations. Skulls turn to dust, dust becomes soil, and the soil feeds us and keeps us warm.
The speaker sounds bitter and unsettled rather than angry. The tone is flat and matter-of-fact, which makes the images hit harder. The last stanza is almost mocking: "Climb the steps / Of rotten bodies, / To your dirt throne." Judging by that line, the speaker sees human success as a kind of grim joke, since the throne is only dirt. The mood is cold, bleak and reflective, and it leaves you thinking about what your own comfort is built on.