What is the main theme in the poem "Prayer Before Birth"?

Corruption of the World

"Prayer Before Birth" was written and published during the height of World War II in 1944. At the time, European countries were experiencing devastation on a near daily basis; entire cities were destroyed, civilians were killed, and the Nazi regime was carrying out their genocidal crusade against Jews and other groups across the continent. The central theme of "Prayer Before Birth" is the corruption of the world, evidenced by the effects of the war. The speaker of the poem sends a "prayer" to the reader asking for protection against this corruption, which they also perceive as inevitable. At the end of the poem, the speaker is resigned to the fact that death before birth would be preferable to living in a world characterized by violence and destruction.