The speaker lives beside a river and says he does so "without a word," so the first impression is of silence and solitude. Nothing is explained. He simply stays, watching the water, and the title's "again" suggests a return, as if the river is something he keeps coming back to or cannot leave.
The second line brings in a "poor worn gun," a small, odd image. Worn and pitiful, it seems like a tool of past action that has lost its use. The poem doesn't say what the gun was for, so we are left to guess: hunting, violence, or just something once-powerful now tired.
The last line is the most striking: time is "a woman I burn to serve." Here the speaker admits a strong, almost devotional desire, though it's mixed with burning, which hints at both passion and pain. The mood is hushed, wistful, and a little restless, a quiet life with something fierce underneath.