The Romanticisation of Homeless Living

“Breath and Distance” engages with cultural images of homeless living and the freedom it provides. These images have been popularized predominantly by the work of Jack Kerouac and the Beat poets, and films like the 1986 Crossroads (in which a musical hitchhiking adventure becomes “hoboing”). In today’s logistically complex world, the thought of traveling “between boxcars” (Line 1) without roots or material possessions can seem appealing. The poem dispels these notions somewhat, particularly in the third and eighth stanzas. The third stanza describes cold, unappetizing food and the notion that trying to build any kind of temporary home brings violence. Later in the poem this is revisited more vividly as the speaker reflects on “blood in his mouth when rail bulls find him” (Line 32). These motifs show a side to homeless living that’s less often seen in cultural media.

In the closing...