作為苦難時代的犧牲者，五、六十年代的軍旅詩人常有一種被從根拔除的悲憤感受。他們被移植到「既非母土，亦非異國」的海島之上，處境尷尬，角色曖昧，缺乏認同與投入的動機。面對僵固沈滯的現實世界，終於逐漸形成一種與公共價值抗衡的疏離心態，其具體表現則可歸納如下: 　　一、軍旅詩人啟筆之際，便面臨到如何應付文藝政策的問題。軍人身份促使他們不得不順勢「戰鬥」一番，但隨著詩藝的成熟，體驗的加深，他們終於匯入現代詩運動的潮流之中。對政策的疏離，實際上已展現了超越世俗身份的決心，確立了詩藝突破的可能。 　　二、軍旅詩人既對當下現實有所隔膜，逆轉而構築另一種時空，與「此地現在」展開對蹠：或神遊宇宙，追尋幻境；或馳想異國，指向未知。這種不肯以眼見耳聞自限的傾向，使他們跳脫物理現象，極力開發超現實的奇思妙想，一方面純化了詩質，另一方面卻也窄化了詩境。 　　三、軍旅詩人的創作歷程有如煉珠之蚌，不斷地排除「雜質」，以求得詩藝的精純。從反傳統、反學院，到反庸眾、反理性，在在流露出強烈的挑戰性格。這些歷程使他們自認為從所謂「保守、庸俗、陳腐」的世界中區隔出來，逐步建立一種獨立自足的詩人意識。

　　As the victims of circumstances, the poets as soldiers in the 1950s and the 1960s often suffer from a sense of homelessness. They are transplanted to an island which is, for them, neither the native land nor a foreign country. In such an embarrassing situation, they are less motivated and often show want of identity. Gradually they become alien, or even hostile, to the values of the society they are in. This is discussed as follows: 　　1. The poets as soldiers can hardly avoid literary policies when they write. As soldiers, they have to conform to some "rules." As more sophisticated, nevertheless, they decide to side with the true modern poets. The detachment of official policies from their writings shows their determination and the possibility of becoming genuine poets. 　　2. Finding themselves in a world of alienation, these poets try to create a fictitious world against it. It is easy to find imagination, exoticism and the unknown in their poems. Dissatisfied with the physical world in which they are confined, they also turn to the surrealist innovations. Poetry of this kind is purer in a sense, and yet it is limited, too. 　　3. To these poets, the career as a poet means the continual purification of the work. In their poems readers find a revolt against all restraints on free creativity, which include conventions, academies, the general public and logical reason. Such a revolt, they believe, may finally separate them from a conservative and vulgar world.