Home of the Brave

The first poem begins from the first-person perspective of the narrator, a young boy named Kek, who tells his story in free verse. Having flown in the “flying boat” (3) that lands on the ground, Kek looks out the airplane window to see his new home, a snow-covered world that is unlike anything he has ever imagined. Dave, a kind man Kek calls “the helping man” (3), picks Kek up and takes him outside, where, for the first time, Kek sees snow. Kek doesn’t care for the snow and cold, as they are alien to what he knows. Dave gives Kek a thick jacket and gloves and tells him, “You’ll get used to it, Kek” (4). Kek isn’t so sure, as the coat doesn’t fit right and he can’t make his fingers move inside the gloves. He determines, “America is hard work” (4), which makes Dave laugh.

Dave works for the Refugee Resettlement Center. Kek compares Dave to his father and notes that Dave isn’t tall, has a beard, doesn’t like the cold weather, and drives a clunker of a car.