The speaker remembers being carried out of a violent home, "pulled from fire" after a fist hits his mother's face. The fire is not literal so much as a way of describing anger, fear and "broken glass." The rescuers are called angels, and his mother's "bird-like arms" show how fragile she is, even as she holds him close. Then a taxi arrives, and its name, Sunshine, feels like a small promise of safety.
The sharpest moment comes when the child cries for his dad. The older speaker looks back and can't quite understand it. He calls his father a "miserable shadow" and asks why anyone would cry out to darkness or want to return to where "the war had been." The mood is tense and raw, but also tender and puzzled. The poem suggests that love and loyalty can linger even toward someone who hurt you, and that this confusion is part of what leaving costs.