When reading this poem do you find yourself more engaged with the emotion or the information in the poem?"The Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall

Primarily because this ballad is a tribute to innocent
children, the readers find themselves touched by the poignancy and irony of the poem,
rather than the information.  Besides, the facts are only sketchy at best.  The incident
happened in Birmingham, Alabama, and a church on Sixteenth Street was blow
up. 

The readers must know something about this city as
well as the historical context of the poem in order to focus on the information more
than on the emotion.  And, since the brutal act is committed on a church which
traditionally is sanctuary from conflict, and because the victims are innocent of any
act that could possibly explain such brutality, the readers cannot but be touched by the
poignancy of Dudley Randall's ballad.