Poetry by Rowan Evans

Author’s Note

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that people rarely see the same person the same way. We don’t meet others as blank slates—we meet them carrying our own history, fears, hopes, and assumptions.

The Rorschach inkblot became the perfect metaphor for that. The inkblot itself isn’t trying to be anything; the meaning comes from the person looking at it.

Maybe people work the same way.

Every interaction is filtered through perspective, and perspective is shaped by perception, memory, and experience. Sometimes what another person believes about us reveals far more about their own journey than it does about who we actually are.

This poem is an invitation to think about that relationship between identity and interpretation—and to remember that no one is ever seen exactly as they are.

— Rowan Evans

Human Rorschach
Poetry by Rowan Evans

I’m an inkblot
in human form,
a real Rorschach—

am I couple kissing,
or a mushroom cloud?

Love or destruction—

what do you see
when you look at me?

Know there are
no wrong answers—

because what you believe
is fed by what you see
and what you see is perspective,
but perspective is shaped by perception—

I am open to interpretation
and it changes,
with everything
you’ve lived through—

the things you’ve survived.

What you see
when you look at me,
says more about your life—

than it does mine.

Journey into the Hexverse…

[A Rose in the Ashes]
Lost within a forest where every leaf becomes a memory, the speaker follows darkness instead of fleeing from it, discovering that healing isn’t found at the end of the tunnel—but in facing the past long enough to notice a single rose blooming through the ashes.

[Leave No Self Behind]
What if finding yourself isn’t about discovering someone new, but learning to walk beside every version you’ve ever been? “Leave No Self Behind” is a meditation on memory, healing, and embracing the selves we once abandoned.

[Every Night, The Same Flight]
Every night begins with the same flight. Between wakefulness and sleep, an airport appears, a familiar shoreline waits beyond the journey, and the same dream asks whether some destinations find us before we’re ready to find them.

[Through My View]
No two people experience the world the same way. Through My View is a reflective free verse poem exploring perspective, imagination, and the impossibility of fully seeing through another person’s eyes.

[Just Human]
Just Human is a reflective free verse poem about seeing people before borders, choosing empathy over division, and finding home in our shared humanity rather than on a map.

If you’re interested in more poetry, you can find it here → [The Library of Ashes]