life direction – Poetry by Rowan Evans

Author’s Note

Sometimes, the mind wanders somewhere between waking and dreaming, and the unfamiliar begins to feel strangely like home. Maybe it’s just a dream. Maybe it’s imagination playing with possibilities. Or maybe it’s a reminder that the life we’re living right now isn’t the only story we could ever tell.

The Chapter After This One is about looking beyond a present that might not feel right and remembering that the story isn’t finished. We don’t always get to choose the circumstances of our current chapter, and we can’t simply flip to the ending to see whether everything works out. Sometimes, we have to keep reading, even when the road ahead is uncertain.

But reading isn’t all we can do. We can question the direction, challenge the expectations, and pick up the pen ourselves. We may not control every twist in the plot, but we can make choices that shape what comes next.

The future isn’t a page we’ve already read. It’s a chapter we haven’t reached yet—and perhaps, in more ways than we realize, we’re already helping to write it.

— Rowan Evans

A solitary figure stands on an unfamiliar dreamlike street beside an open book and fountain pen, watching a winding path lead toward a golden horizon that symbolizes an unwritten future. — *You may not be able to skip to the ending, but you can still pick up the pen and help write what comes next.*

The Chapter After This One
Poetry by Rowan Evans

I’ve been drifting today—
constantly somewhere in-between
awake and asleep—
between reality and a dream.
One moment, I’m sitting alone—
the next I’m walking streets I’ve never known.

Yet somehow,
those streets feel like home.

I can’t say for certain where I was,
but I had a pretty good idea—
it felt familiar but not,
like I was getting a preview—
for a future plot.
Like the writers for my life—
were showing me,
I’m not stuck in the story I got.

And while it’s true,
I may not like the current chapter—
I just have to keep reading,
to find out what comes after—
you cannot skip ahead,
that’ll only lead you down
the wrong road instead.

If you don’t like the direction,
pick up a pen—become a co-writer then.
You can’t rely on, just anyone,
take matters into your own hands.
You can shape fate, you can write
for your own life—
you know you can guide
the plot, right?

Journey into the Hexverse

[Everything and Nothing]
What happens when you’re quiet but observant, overwhelmed yet seemingly empty, surrounded by beauty but sometimes seeing only decay? Everything and Nothing is a confessional poem about overthinking, mental exhaustion, contradiction, and the absurd humor that helps us keep going—even when we’re wobbling in socks and Crocs.

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

Author’s Note

Some things don’t arrive all at once.

They show up in fragments–small moments, passing interests, people you meet, places that linger in your thoughts longer than they should.

At first, it feels random.

Disconnected.

But over time, patterns start to form.

This piece comes from recognizing one of those patterns.

Looking back and realizing that what felt like curiosity… was actually direction. That the pull I kept feeling wasn’t new–it was something that had been building quietly for years.

And maybe that’s what alignment feels like.

Not a sudden shift.

But a slow realization that you’ve been moving toward something long before you understood why.

— Rowan Evans

Person standing at a crossroads with signs pointing toward distant cities symbolizing life direction and travel. — *Some paths don’t begin when you choose them—they’ve been forming long before you realize you’re on them.*

They say—
you’re an American,
you can’t change it.
It runs through the blood,
burrows in the marrow.
You’re an American today,
you’ll be one tomorrow.

Sure—
that’s true.

American is the label
I wear.

But it’s not the one
I claim.

These are the lands
I was born in—
but they’ve never
been home.

I’ve known
since I was fourteen
I was meant
to leave.

Started planning
at seventeen.

Eighteen—
applied for a job
in Japan.

I pictured
walking Tokyo’s streets,
slipping through alleyways—

a quiet life
in a city alive.

Nineteen—
felt the pull
of Korea,
the hum of Seoul
in my soul.

Twenty—
I wandered China
in my mind.

But it never felt
quite right.

So I kept searching,
listening
to the shifts
inside.

And then—

a pattern emerged.

I didn’t notice it
at first.

Manila.
The Philippines.

A thread
that’s been there
since I was eighteen.

Subtle—
at the start.

Two kids
I took
under my wing.

That’s how it began.

And then it kept appearing—
in the friends
I met online,

in the people
I was drawn to.

It felt like
a magnetic pull.

In the last year—
maybe more—

it’s become stronger
than ever before.

And somewhere
in that pull—

is her.

Not the reason—

but proof

that I was already
on my way.

This doesn’t feel
like curiosity anymore.

It feels like alignment.

Like something in me
has been pointing
in one direction
all along—

and I’m only now
choosing
to follow it.

Journey into the Hexverse!

[121° East]
A single line of longitude becomes something more—a reflection of distance, identity, and the quiet decision to become who you were always meant to be.

[Coordinated of Escape]
A deeply introspective poem about overthinking, emotional loops, and the desire to start over. Coordinates of Escape traces the journey from internal chaos to a deliberate destination—both physical and personal.

[Of No Single Nation]
What if belonging isn’t tied to where you’re from? Of No Single Nation explores identity beyond borders, reframing home as something found in connection rather than geography.

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

Poetry by Rowan Evans

Tag: life direction

The Chapter After This One | A Poem About Hope, Fate & Writing Your Own Future by Rowan Evans

I Was Already On My Way – A Poem About Identity, Travel, and Finding Your Direction