In my third chapbook I have taken poems and stories that are centered in Death Valley, where I grew up. The poems follow a similar format and theme when compared to my previous chapbooks and it would benefit the reader to read the first two chapbooks before reading this one, but I believe these poems ultimately stand on their own.
Thematically, I primarily tried to address one question: what happens when someone leaves home? What are the worries, fears, doubts, regrets, causes to leave, causes to go back, and ultimately what keeps a person from ever going back home? When do you say to self, �I am strong enough to make it on my own now?�
A runaway is typically a young person, statistically 16 years of age, and the catalyst is family turmoil. The exposure is inward at home, but it is physical on the streets. It creates loss. However, many of us took the first opportunity that came to use to leave home, which in my experience was nothing less than running for all it was worth. When I think about home, I think about what I left and how I�ve changed. I think about my friends Kyle and Mike, who escaped their biological father and I�ve never heard from them these years past.
