Ghosts from Home: Poems on Leaving, Loving, and Looking Back

"You thought leaving would be a clean break. But distance has a memory of its own."What happens to the heart when it outgrows its birthplace - yet never stops longing for it?In Ghosts from Home, Kai Vale captures the quiet ache of departure, the loneliness of new cities, and the tender ghosts that memory refuses to let go. Through eighty poems woven across five movements - The Leaving, The Distance, The Ghosts, The Becoming, and The Return - this collection traces the journey of those who leave in search of something more, and discover that home follows them everywhere.Vale's writing is intimate and lyrical, blending the simplicity of lived experience with the depth of universal truth. These poems speak to anyone who has ever stood at an airport gate, a bus window, or a digital screen - torn between worlds that no longer fit neatly together.From the scent of a mother's cooking to the silence of missed goodbyes, Ghosts from Home explores how identity is both anchored and unraveled by migration, memory, and love.Ultimately, this is not just a book about leaving. It's about what stays.For those who carry two worlds in their chest - one of past and one of possibility - these poems offer solace, recognition, and the reminder that home is not a place you return to, but a truth you grow into.