Cumming's poem seems to be very sloppy, but of course, this is for a reason. I think he wants the reader to understand that this quote was done in a hurry and not meant to be completely formal. Based on the quotation marks and the last line, "He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water" the "He" is someone giving a speech to an audience. I think the actual speaker of the poem though, is someone in the audience who is quickly recording the speech and adding in their opinion at the same time, maybe a journalist. The person giving the speech is very patriotic and even references lines from the Star Spangled Banner, "oh say can you see by the dawn's early." Based on the quote I have at the top, I don't think that the person in the audience totally agrees with the person giving the speech. There is also irony in the poem when it says, "what could be more beautiful than these heroic happy dead." Yes, the soldiers are heroic, but the war/fighting eventually led to their death, which is not beautiful or happy. The speaker clearly finds war to be foolish. I'm still not totally sure, but I think the speaker is a journalist criticizing the President's speech.
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