Author’s Note

I Just Want to Leave captures the restless, exilic energy that often pulses beneath my poetry. It is a declaration of detachment from a place that feels stifling, a yearning for freedom, and the fierce self-awareness that comes from knowing your worth and choosing to protect it. This piece resonates with anyone who has ever felt too much, too intense, or simply out of place—and serves as a reminder that leaving sometimes isn’t running away, it’s reclaiming yourself.

I Just Want to Leave
Poetry by Rowan Evans

They say—
“You need to put yourself out there,”
but I put myself out there,
and nobody seems to connect with me.
That’s fine—really though—
‘cause I don’t like Americans,
I just want to leave.

You’re proud
to be an American?
Well, not me.

“If you don’t like it here, just leave.”

Did you not hear
what I just said?
That’s exactly what I’m tryin’ to do.
If I could,
I’d be gone tomorrow, boo.
Yeah, I’d pull a Danny Phantom—
going ghost.

I’d take a plane,
or stowaway to escape.
I’d cross oceans—
hell, I’d swim if I had to.

They say, “be proud,”
but pride tastes like poison here.
I’ve got no flag,
pledge no allegiance.
All I’ve got—
is an open wound
that wants to heal…
somewhere else.

It’d be—
goodbye forever,
and I’m never
coming back.

If you just want to read more of my work, you can find it all here: [The Library of Ashes]