That when Mary and Warren first begun speaking about Silas, they are both angry at him for returning. They soon realize what kind of life that he has lived and they must treat him with a respect, that he has earned by reaching his age. Also another theme would be a persons definition of the word home. And Mary thus thinks that Silas has come to the only home he knows to finally die. Warren on the other hand wants Silas to go live with his brother who only lives thirteen miles away.
Every character has a different view of the word home, and so does the reader.
He lived an entire life, and to show for it, is nothing more than the memory in two people, who will soon forget him. A person needs to have someone in their life, unlike Silas, so that when they die there memory will live on. This poem is an all too realistic warning to all those that are young that soon they too will be old, and how we treat them now, is how others will treat you when you are there.