The poem catches a single strange moment: the speaker is about to head out when everything suddenly stops. In that stillness, they see generals and their "wounded flag" frozen in place, as nervous about being noticed as a rabbit caught in the open. It's an odd, almost comic image, since people who hold power are shown as small and frightened rather than commanding. The wounded flag suggests a cause or nation that has been hurt, though the poem never says which.
Then the focus shifts to the woods, where a god who has died is still being sung about, innocently. The singing seems unaware of any death or any war. The speaker doesn't tell us how they feel outright, but the tone suggests awe mixed with unease. The mood is hushed and eerie, like a pause before something happens, with the quiet tenderness of the song set against the fear of the soldiers. The title, "Visionary," hints that the speaker sees what others usually miss.