←

Poetry by Rowan Evans

Tag: comic book references

  • New God With a Pen (Red Rage, Yellow Fear) | A DC-Inspired Battle Poem by Rowan Evans

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    New God With a Pen (Red Rage, Yellow Fear) is me taking the battle-poet persona and throwing it directly into the DC Universe.

    The premise is simple: if I’m going to write like my pen has powers, why stop at superheroes? Give me Superman’s rage, Batman’s fear, Darkseid’s cosmic scale, and an Anti-Life Equation made entirely of rhyme—and suddenly the notebook becomes its own comic-book universe.

    The important part is that the destruction stays where it belongs: on the page.

    This is playful bravado, exaggerated power-scaling, and a little comic-book absurdity wrapped around the idea that a pen can make a poet feel damn near omnipotent.

    Apparently, today my ink wanted to become a New God.

    — Rowan Evans

    A poet holding a glowing pen amid red rage and yellow fear energy beneath a towering cosmic comic-book figure.
    The pen got cosmic. The rhyme scheme got dangerous. The notebook became a universe.

    New God With a Pen (Red Rage, Yellow Fear)
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    I am Metropolis in the shadows,
    and Gotham in the light—
    that might feel backwards,
    but it’s not—

    I’m Superman with a red ring when I write,
    unstoppable and full of rage—
    but I keep the rage contained to the page,
    so while I might slaughter you—
    you’ll be both victim and witness.
    Because you’ll be able to read it too,
    like headline news, front page—

    and if you think that’s bad, no dear—
    I’m Yellow Lantern Batman,
    I rule the shadows and control fear.
    I’ll write lines so terrifying,
    they make you want to disappear—
    and so you know, I deleted four lines…

    there were more disses here.

    I write lines so tight with rhymes
    that hit so hard, even Darkseid
    looks at me like a New God now.
    I put the Anti-Life Equation
    in my lines, that’s why my rhymes
    have the power to control minds.

    You can’t compete with me.
    I’ve beaten you completely.

    Journey into the Hexverse

    [The Sacred Timeline]
    From childhood stories about Dragon Ball Z, Power Rangers, and Pokémon to gothic cathedrals, ravens, roses, identity, healing, and experimentation, The Sacred Timeline traces how Rowan Evans’s relationship with the pen evolved across thirty-six years—and how the ink remained while the writer kept changing.

    [The Metaphor Machine]
    A poem that takes apart its own machinery as it runs—breaking lines, breaking thoughts, and following metaphors from moonlight to tides, oceans, shorelines, and city streets.

    [Welcome to the Hexverse]
    Step into the Hexverse—a poetic world where mythmaking, humor, rage, creativity, and confession collide, and darkness becomes something that can be reshaped into art.

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

  • Fine, Fire It Is | A Playful Metaphor Poem by Rowan Evans

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    Sometimes a metaphor refuses to behave.

    This piece started with ice, took a few unexpected detours through pop-culture references, and eventually decided that being “cold” was nowhere near the right description anyway.

    So I stopped fighting the metaphor and let the fire take over.

    Because sometimes the pen doesn’t freeze.

    It smolders.

    — Rowan Evans

    A poet writing with a smoking pen as melting ice gives way to flames and glowing embers.
    The metaphor started cold. The pen decided it had something hotter to say.

    Fine, Fire It Is
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    I’ll drop a Frozen bar because I’m cold—
    Emma Frost—hold on—that reference doesn’t land,
    it’s not ice, her skin turns to diamonds, man.

    It wasn’t in reference to her skin—

    well, what was it then?

    Her cold ass personality, duh, that’s the reality—
    she’s not nice, she’s mean—a real Ice Queen.

    Could have gotten there faster
    with Iceman, Bobby Drake—

    Or better yet, I could have said—
    I’ll drop a Frozen bar, because I’m cold—
    like Frozone, where’s my super suit?

    Fine.
    We’ll skip ice.

    That’d be nice,
    right?

    Cool—
    no, wait—
    not cool.
    We said we’re done with that.

    Fine then,
    fire it is—

    I pen flames,
    draggin’ ink across the page
    like a dragon’s rage—
    scorchin’ margins,
    burnin’ through the lines
    like I’m tryin’ to cremate the rhyme.

    See?
    This is why I shouldn’t switch metaphors—
    I get carried away,
    turn a spark into a wildfire,
    turn a wildfire into a prophecy,
    turn a prophecy into a punchline.

    But whatever—
    heat fits better anyway.
    I’m not cold,
    I’m molten—
    I don’t freeze,
    I smolder.

    And if ice didn’t land,
    fire always will—
    because even when I’m calm,
    my pen still smokes
    from the last thing I wrote.

    Journey into the Hexverse

    [Exhibit A]
    A quick-witted, unapologetically playful poem about writing fast, crossing lines, roasting the competition, and letting rhythm do the talking.

    [Why So Serious?]
    A playful, chaotic poem packed with pop-culture references, superhero imagery, Disney characters, wordplay, and the kind of ridiculous puns that make the poet wonder why they were ever given a pen.

    [Welcome to the Hexverse]
    Step into the Hexverse—a poetic world where mythmaking, humor, rage, creativity, and confession collide, and darkness becomes something that can be reshaped into art.

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

  • 5:01 (Pull the Punchline Back) | A Confessional Poem About Humor as Emotional Armor

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    Some people assume that because I write confessional poetry, vulnerability comes naturally to me.

    It doesn’t.

    My first instinct is almost always to make a joke.

    If something hurts, I’ll reach for humor. If something feels too exposed, I’ll bury it beneath a cartoon reference, a comic book nod, or a punchline that arrives just before the truth does.

    This poem is about that instinct.

    It explores the strange contradiction at the center of my writing: I’m willing to confess almost anything—as long as I can disguise it first.

    The title, 5:01, marks another early morning when my thoughts were moving faster than I could organize them. And “Pull the Punchline Back” became my way of describing what happens when I realize I’ve hidden behind humor for just a second too long.

    Sometimes the joke protects me.

    Sometimes it prevents me from saying what I actually mean.

    This poem lives somewhere between those two realities.

    — Rowan Evans

    A lone person walking through an empty street at sunrise while faded comic book imagery dissolves into the morning light, symbolizing humor giving way to emotional honesty.
    Sometimes the hardest part of confession isn’t finding the words—it’s resisting the joke that tries to replace them.

    5:01 (Pull the Punchline Back)
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    5:01—
    the morning comes
    and my thoughts run,
    like a marathon.

    You see—
    most the time
    my thoughts move quick,
    like a sprint—
    Usain?

    No, insane.

    I bolt when I feel
    I care too much—

    here the vulnerability comes,
    so where’s the joke at?
    I got to hide that—
    pull the punchline back.

    I put a brave face on—
    they call me Courage,
    even though
    I’m a cowardly dog.

    Isn’t it funny?
    I’m a confessional poet,
    but I hide the confession
    behind a wall of jokes—

    and cartoon references—
    can’t forget the comic books.

    The page is a phone booth,
    I go into to change—
    but I’m not trying to be a hero here,
    there’s no S on my chest.

    I’m just here for those
    that are stressed and struggling.

    And this is my problem,
    I’ve got my own problems,
    then I take mo’ problems,
    they were yo’ problems—

    now I’m juggling.

    The sad thing is—
    the whole time
    this is what my mind
    has been running from.

    It’s incredible—
    how fast I Dash,
    gone in a Flash,
    like I ran to the past
    to escape—

    everything I want.

    Connection.
    Reflection.

    So I keep my feet moving
    until I get where I’m going,
    and I’m not showin’—
    no signs of slowin’.

    Journey into the Hexverse…

    [I’d Rather Try]
    Anyone can promise they’d die for someone. But love isn’t built on one dramatic moment—it’s built on showing up, trying again tomorrow, and proving your words through consistent action.

    [Tots, Rocks and All]
    What begins as a surreal collection of tater tots, rocks, comic book references, and runaway thoughts slowly reveals something much quieter: a poem about creativity, vulnerability, and the simple hope of finding someone willing to hold your heart.

    [Ocean Waves (1, 4, 3)]
    What begins as a surreal collection of tater tots, rocks, comic book references, and runaway thoughts slowly reveals something much quieter: a poem about creativity, vulnerability, and the simple hope of finding someone willing to hold your heart.

    [L Words & Heart]
    A playful, self-aware poem about love, longing, loyalty, and the quiet ways another person can reshape our inner world. What begins as humor slowly reveals a heartfelt confession about affection, imagination, and the faces that linger in our dreams.

    [No You and I, Only Us]
    A hopeful free verse poem about empathy, borders, and imagining a world where humanity matters more than division.

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