Author’s Note

This piece comes from a place of wanting more than surface-level connection.

It’s easy to exist in spaces where we show only what’s safe–what’s presentable, what won’t be questioned too deeply. But I’ve always been drawn to what lives underneath that. The quiet parts. The complicated parts. The things people carry but don’t always speak out loud.

This poem isn’t just about seeing someone–it’s about being trusted with what’s beneath the surface. The scars, the thoughts, the moments that shaped them in ways the world doesn’t always get to witness.

There’s a kind of intimacy in that. Not in fixing or changing someone, but in understanding them. In holding space for everything they are, even the parts that feel hidden or unfinished.

At its core, this piece is about connection–not the easy kind, but the kind that asks you to slow down, to listen, and to see someone fully.

And maybe, to be seen the same way.

— Rowan Evans

Beneath the Surface
Poetry by Rowan Evans

Why are so many okay with
settling at the surface?
I want to dig deeper—
get to the core of you.

See where the roots lie,
the ties that bind—
let me see the universe
behind your eyes.

Windows to a galaxy
all your own
and I want to call,
at least one of those worlds—
my home.

Let me go beyond
what the eyes can see,
let me peer within,
let your soul breathe.

Take a breath,
relax.

I just want to know—
I want to see the essence,
the truth,
And all of the scars
you don’t disclose.

I want to hear the stories
of the battles fought,
the wars waged
in silent thought.

The ones
nobody else knew—
I want to help mend
the fractures in you.

The surface is safe,
but I want the depths,
the places
where your heart has wept.
I want to touch
the parts untouched by light—
where dreams
and fears take flight.

Let me see the storm
inside your soul,
the cracks,
the pieces,
the parts—
that don’t feel whole.

Because—
I want to understand.

Not just the surface,
but every grain of sand.
Every emotion, every tear—
All of the things
that make you real,
that make you—

You.

Not the mask,
not the show,
But the truth
you often don’t show.
I want to see—
to feel,
and to know.

The beautiful chaos
that makes you whole.

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