The title broadcasts three of the poem's interrelated themes, as it contains arrivals, departures, and time. Lowell is coming home, which means that he left. Time, too, is a factor because three months have gone by between Lowell’s leaving for the hospital and gaining the ability to return home.

Lowell is back, but the “baby’s nurse” is “[g]one” (Line 1). Right away, the theme of coming and going collide. Lowell’s arrival coincides with the nurse’s departure. The nurse also connects to the theme of time since her “gobbets of porkrind” (Line 5) hung in the magnolia tree for three months. The food helps the sparrows “weather a Boston winter” (Line 9) or make it through a rough time.

The chant “Three months, three months!” (Line 10) reinforces the importance of time. The repetition reminds the reader that Lowell was gone for three months. Someone (his wife, presumably, since they’re her words) then asks, “Is Richard now himself again?” (Line 11). The question suggests Lowell had gone away from who he was. He was acting like someone else and needed treatment to come back to his true personality.

The birthday also moves time; between going away and coming home, Lowell ages from 40 to 41.