What is the most likely purpose for the poem?

to compare two kinds of women

to refer to sacrifice for future generations

to use warfare to describe human behavior

to show how women's lives are similar across generations

To compare a physical journey to life is the most likely purpose for the poem.

A poem is a piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhythmical, usually metaphorical, and often exhibits such formal elements as meter, rhyme, and stanzaic structure.