"going home" by Robert Keim

Robert Keim

Robert Keim

Robert Keim attended Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History. He completed an MPhil in Medieval Studies at the University of Glasgow's Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and began PhD research at the Institute for Environmental History at the University of St. Andrews on the subject of species history. After one year he suspended his studies and relocated to Steamboat Springs, CO. He is currently at Dartmouth College pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in creative writing.

going home

The books, from the shelves
Made of milk crates and scrap wood,
He packed with care
Into an old cardboard box
Kept together by generations of tape.
The few letters he saved —
The edges discolored,
Tucked into envelopes 
With brightly colored postmarks
And air mail stickers —
He bound with recycled blue ribbon
And placed them
In the inside pocket of his coat;
A warm coat and loyal.
The worn out photos of his youth,
And those collected over time,
He cached under a hardback cover of Blake
Before sealing the box with borrowed tape.

He walked down the hall,
Each door he passed was shut
But he tipped his cap —
His mother had raised him right;
He stopped when he reached the street,
The way uncertain.
Where are you going, a neighbor asked,
Home, he answered, I'm going home.