Home is inside all of us, we just need to know how to dial in. It’s the takeaway from Rhys Campbell’s most recent collection of poetry, finding home. The series of reflective, personal poems considers what it means to feel secure, rooted, and at peace — regardless of where one lives.

“I purposely didn't capitalise the title, with the intention to have it as the end of a sentence. I don't actually have a sentence where it lies, but that's how it feels. It feels like coming to the end of a conclusion and understanding that there's home within everyone,” he said.

“I feel like the book definitely delves into trying to understand where home is. And home is somewhere inside of yourself, in your heart — [the] most homely and safe space.”

Finding home follows his 2022 chapbook, From The Pink Sands, and Animate, his first full collection of work, published in 2023.

After years of writing in different forms it feels like a natural progression, Mr Campbell said. A creative burst over the past two years has allowed him to shape his poetry into a cohesive collection and experiment with new approaches to rhyme and rhythm.

“I was born in Bermuda, grew up in Cardiff in Wales, and I have recently returned after spending around five years in Bermuda. I’m at a different time in my life and just looking to see what else is out there and exploring the world basically,” he said.

Despite that, he wouldn’t be surprised if Bermuda drew him back.

“It has its way,” he said of his island home. “There are so many things [I miss]. The sand – especially being in Wales, where the sand isn't as soft as most Bermuda sands.

“The [shell-filled] beaches in Bermuda are quite often softer than some of the pebble beaches and such that we have in Wales.

“I definitely miss how friendly Bermudians are; being able to have genuine conversations with anyone and everyone on the island and the positivity that radiates from Bermuda.”

With a full-time job in finance, Mr Campbell welcomes the balance that his creativity brings and is thrilled with how his poetry has evolved.

“The early work was more exploratory, finding my voice and experimenting with form,” he said. “With each project, I’ve gained more clarity in expressing themes that resonate deeply with me, particularly those around identity and belonging.

“Finding home feels like a culmination of that growth, a more refined expression of what I’ve been trying to say all along. I have explored refining lines, rhymes and meter in ways I had not done prior.”

It took him about a year to put finding home together. Within some of his poems Mr Campbell has included work by Casey-Jade Campbell, Kellan J Blakeway, Bethan Keogh, Adam Shove, Ella Aranyani and Georgia Griffiths.

“They are all individuals I have naturally collaborated with, it wasn't forced and those features happened intuitively. I've used other fonts to show where the features start and finish,” he explained.

“I would say definitely 12 months it took me to sit with these poems and let them pour out, when and where it came through. It was quite a natural process.

“It came at a time where it felt like I needed to write most, and it came out beautifully – the way I wanted and intended it to be.”

The response to all three of his books has been encouraging.

“[From The Pink Sands], all those poems were inspired by the island — the things I saw day to day and my experiences there — and it was pretty cool to have some really lovely feedback and genuine enjoyment, which is nice to hear.

“With Animate, my first actual collection, it was nice to steer into a completely different direction from my first release and do something that felt very natural at the time.”

Finding home was partially inspired by his new surroundings.

“Each direction in life is always a big change, and [I try to] find grounding within it. Poetry kind of helps me do that.

“It makes me make sense of the world, and that progress of moving and trying to understand myself as the endless journey of life always does,” Mr Campbell said.

“At times, it is scary putting your heart on your sleeve and wearing that so vulnerably. But it's very healthy, and it kind of navigates you through resilience to be able to be vulnerable and to be as loving as possible as a result of it.”

For aspiring poets hesitant to share their work, he encourages courage.

“Poetry is not always something people seek out to try and look cool or anything like that. I feel like quite often, people will sit with their writing for a really long time, and I think it's very common for people to seek out writing as an outlet,” Mr Campbell said.

“It's a very healthy outlet to try and understand yourself, the world around you, and make sense of things, and to experience life and all its wonders to the fullest.

“And if you look at it with that angle, and take away the pressures of having to put it out there or have the world see it.

“To be observed, I think, is the scariest thing. But if you really believe in what you're writing about, you shouldn't have to second-guess it.”

• Finding home is available onAmazon.com