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Poetry by Rowan Evans

Tag: emotional boundaries

  • Be Proud – A Poem About Identity, Disconnection, and Refusing Forced Patriotism

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    This piece isn’t about hating a place.
    It’s about refusing to perform pride I don’t feel.

    For most of my life, I’ve carried a quiet disconnect—and what’s always surprised me isn’t the feeling itself, but how personal other people take it. As if my lack of attachment is an accusation.

    It isn’t.

    It’s just honesty.

    Be Proud is about boundaries. About recognizing that someone else’s love for something doesn’t require my imitation. And that some feelings run too deep to be argued out of existence.

    — Rowan Evans

    A solitary person standing apart from a distant city skyline under a dramatic evening sky.
    You can love it.
    I just don’t.

    Be Proud
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    It’s always been funny to me,
    the way people argue with me.
    Why does my disconnect
    affect you so badly?
    Why do you take
    my wanting to leave,
    so personal?

    If you’re proud,
    be proud—
    I don’t care,
    honestly.

    You’re wasting your breath,
    you’re wasting your time—
    because, you’re never going to
    change my mind.
    I’ve been like this
    for most of my life,
    so tell me—
    do you really think
    your opinion will
    change something
    so marrow deep?

    Look, you love America—
    I get it, I really do,
    and I wish
    I was a little more
    like you.

    But I’m not.

    And I can’t fake it,
    you can’t make me.

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

  • Carved From Intention — A Poem About Deliberate Love and Misunderstood Affection

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    This piece came from the frustration of being misunderstood — from people assuming I give attention freely or that I’m drowning in affection I don’t actually receive. The truth is, I love deliberately. I give slowly. I’m intentional with my emotional presence, and I’m careful with my heart. This poem is a reminder that not all love is loud or scattered; some of us choose where we pour ourselves, and it’s never accidental.

    An androgynous figure carved from pale stone with faint glowing cracks, symbolizing intentional love and emotional depth.
    A body carved from intention — slow to give, deliberate in love, and shaped by quiet emotional truth.

    Carved From Intention
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    It’s kind of wild how
    some people assume,
    I’ve got attention from
    every direction.
    Like I’ve got love
    being thrown at me.
    But that’s not true,
    and even if it was—
    it wouldn’t matter much.
    Because love to me,
    doesn’t mean
    what love means
    to them.

    It’s even weirder how
    people assume
    that I just give attention.
    Like I don’t do
    what I do
    with any real thought
    or intention.
    They swear I’m drowning
    in affection,
    as if every soft word
    ever spoken near me
    belongs to me.

    But I don’t scatter pieces
    of myself like confetti—
    I give slowly, deliberately,
    to the few my soul
    bends toward.
    They think I’m easy to reach,
    but I’m not.
    I’m cautious.
    I’m careful.
    I’m carved from intentions
    people rarely notice.

    Maybe that’s why
    the attention they imagine
    feels hollow to me—
    it’s not the kind I want,
    not the kind I give,
    not the kind I’d stay for.

    Looking for more poetry? You can find it all in the Library of Ashes.