The poem sets two groups side by side: seven businessmen, comfortable and chattering, and a "we" who seem to have far less. The businessmen "rattle out / their seven thoughts," which makes their talk sound repetitive and hollow, like coins in a tin. Death, oddly, gives them whatever they want: a plate of hot salt beef, brown bread, brandy. The title, "Unequal access," hints that comfort and ease are handed out unfairly, and perhaps that death itself is a kind of host to some and not to others.
The speaker's tone shifts in the second half. "We" make little, yet we "desire better." There is longing here, but also defiance. The last lines, "live only an hour" and "carry fire into our graves," suggest that a short, intense life matters more than a long, full-bellied one. The mood is wry, hungry and restless, with a spark of pride in wanting more than what is easily given.