In just a few lines, this poem looks at cruise ships with a cold, sharp eye. The opening image of "ships full of plague and pleasure" puts two opposites side by side: the fun passengers expect and the sickness that can spread on a crowded vessel. The odd phrase "meat people" strips the travellers down to bodies, as if they were cargo being carried from port to port.
The second part turns to the people the ships visit. They are "loving and industrious," going about ordinary life, yet they become "others" to be watched "for entertainment." The speaker doesn't shout about this, but the judgment is easy to feel. There's discomfort, even disgust, at turning someone's daily existence into a show.
The mood is dry, uneasy and quietly accusing. The short, flat lines make the criticism sound matter-of-fact, which makes it sting more. The poem suggests that this kind of travel consumes places and people while the travellers themselves are just as easily consumed.