Author’s Note

When I was a kid, other children wished for speed, flight, invisibility and teleportation. I wished to understand.

This piece isn’t about wanderlust or escape. It’s about connection – the desire to meet people in the language they speak at home, in the rhythm that feels natural to them. I may not have superpowers, but I’ve spent years training my ear, listening with intention, and closing the distance in the ways I can.

Some bridges are built with ink.
Others are built with effort.

— Rowan Evans

The Power I Chose
Poetry by Rowan Evans

Let me take you back
to playground conversations—
when superpowers
were the topic at hand,
and kids were wishing
for flight, speed or teleportation.

Then there was me—
I wished for connection
and fluency, for no language
to be new to me.

I wanted my ears to pick-up
language and cadence,
and my mouth to repeat it
perfectly. I wanted,
no matter where
someone was—

I wanted to be able
to meet ’em,
to greet ’em
with the language
they spoke at home.

I pictured traveling
touching every corner
of the globe,
absorbing language,
perfecting cadence.
Living in a rhythm
not my own.

Now, the power
may not have been real,
but I’ve done
what I could
to train my ear.
Listen with intention,
until all language
felt the same.
And I may not know
what you’re sayin’,
but it no longer
feels foreign.

I’ll keep learning,
and opening doors.
Closing gaps,
connecting with souls—

As I continue to wander
this earth, in search
of a place to call home.
Until I feel the pull of roots,
I will continue to put
earth under boots.
I will continue to move,
never becoming static.

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