ears. The company of strangers or his remaining peers do not compare to the ones of the days ofold. Eben can contemplate his life, his contemporaries, and have a few drinks without listening towhat others have to say. I believe he is alone because he wants to be alone. His "scarred hopesout worn",(18) he has chosen to stand in the "middle of the road" of life deciding not to go further(19). He has made a choice to remain solitary and has become alienated with his "jug" ashis only friend (14). Mr. Flood climbs to the top of the hill to sit with this companion andphysiologically he has alienated himself from the town and what friends it may contain. He sitsand talks to his drink as if the drink was a long lost friend, telling it his woes and complaining tothis silent and non-condemning listener. Mr. Flood appears to be a solitary, crotchety man ofadvanced age who is alone, and perhaps an imbiber of drink by nature. A man who is closer tothe end than the beginning of his life, Eben sits alone upon the hill, reflecting upon andcelebrating the past years of his life, and accepting the fact that he "may not have many more"(10). To me this is a poem more about acceptance rather than loss and sorrow or bitterness.Through the use of the drink Mr. Flood is not forsaken, he is in the past with "friends ofother days", and these friends seem to be all the company he needs at the moment (22). Perhapshe is dying and reminiscing that he is old and all his friends have passed away before him. Depending on the reader's age and station in life, this poem could be interpreted in many ways. As young college students, the poem could appear as a morose and melancholy piece ofwork. Mr. Flood is alone, apparently without family or friends. As young students this mightseem depressing. They have their whole lives before them, they have many dreams andaspirations that have yet to be explored. They could not possibly understand the contentmentEbe...
