The poem explores the internal struggle of an alcoholic facing temptation and despair. Each dawn brings not a new beginning but the same struggle with addiction and loss. Symbols of the beckoning bottle and soothing pool of water represent the draw of alcohol and desire for peace. In the end, the speaker chooses to end their life, filling themselves with lead, suggesting suicide as an escape from pain. Figurative language like symbolism, personification and simile are used to convey the alcoholic's turmoil and descent into hopelessness.