Tag: pop culture references

  • Author’s Note

    Some writers pick up a pen. Others discover they’ve accidentally assembled an entire mutant power set.

    Mutant Ink is my love letter to the X-Men universe, where every ability becomes another way to bend language, twist expectations, and leave a mark on the page. From mind-reading and magnetic control to teleportation, razor-sharp claws, and storms summoned through rhyme, this poem turns familiar mutant powers into weapons of wordplay. The references are playful, the bars are sharp, and the name-drops are absolutely intentional.

    But beneath the comic-book chaos is something that reaches beyond fandom. Creativity is its own kind of evolution. Sometimes a line needs to be dismantled, a verse needs to burn, and an entire draft needs to die before something better can rise in its place.

    That’s where Phoenix comes in.

    Because the goal isn’t simply to write another poem. It’s to become something more through the act of writing it. Every revision, every failure, every spark that refuses to die becomes part of the next transformation.

    Call it mutation. Call it ascension. Call it poetic evolution.

    Just don’t stand too close when the ink catches fire.

    — Rowan Evans


    A poet wields a glowing fountain pen amid floating metal, a teleportation vortex, storm clouds, and orange flames as a fiery phoenix rises from a burning manuscript, symbolizing mutant-inspired wordplay and creative rebirth.
    Sharp lines. Mutant powers. Burning ink. Sometimes the poem has to die before the Phoenix can rise.

    Mutant Ink
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    I’m not Walken,
    my name’s not Christopher—
    I’m stuck in the chair,
    like my name’s Xavier—
    reading your thoughts
    displayed on the page—
    ink laid—I bend bars,
    the way Magneto does.

    And my mind is sharp,
    like my lines are,
    It’s Snikt!—
    every time I write bars,
    words so sharp—
    they’ll cut and leave scars.

    BAMF!
    That’s not a sound effect,
    that’s just what they call me.
    BAMF!
    I never left, no other dimension,
    I’m still here, you’re trippin’.
    They say it’s teleportation—
    I say misdirection—
    look away for one second,
    now I’m somewhere else
    in the sentence—

    I ink storms, and that’s why I
    always start with the dryline.
    I’ll hit you with cyclonic rhymes
    from a twisted mind—
    do you know what happens when
    a Toad gets struck by lightning?
    The same thing that happens
    to everything else—

    and the sky turns Grey,
    it’s usually blue as my Jeans are.
    But that’s what happens
    when Summers mix with Frost—
    turn the heat up, Hellfire Club.

    When the heat gets too high,
    I don’t break—
    I burn.
    Call it evolution,
    call it ascension,
    call it the moment every line
    catches fire at once—

    I go full Phoenix,
    rising out the rhyme scheme,
    feathers made of flame,
    every word a rebirth—
    because sometimes the only way
    to finish a poem
    is to let it die—
    and rise again, stronger.


    Journey into the Hexverse

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

  • Author’s Note

    This piece started as me messing around with wordplay and nostalgia, and it spiraled into pure pixelated chaos.

    Underneath the Nintendo references and party drama, though, it’s really about ego – how quickly pride turns into spectacle, how competition escalates, and how ridiculous we can look when we take ourselves too seriously.

    Sometimes the best way to say something sharp is to hide it in a game.

    — Rowan Evans


    Retro pixel-art inspired party scene with video game characters clashing in a chaotic, colorful arcade-style setting.
    When pixelated egos collide, even the princess might leave the party with Kirby.

    Pixelated Egos
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    I was at a party strapped up,
    IR blaster on my hip—
    you can call me Duck Hunter, bitch.
    Oh NES, just say yes—
    I’ll introduce you to my
    Super Mario Brothers,
    and tell you
    The Legend of Zelda.
    In fact…

    Let me introduce you to
    the princess on grass—
    she’s in her,
    High Rule.
    (Hyrule)

    She’s soft-spoken—
    but sharp like green rupees.
    So no—
    You can’t push to get
    in her good graces.
    You can’t tri- ‘n’ force it.

    While the conversation flows,
    in walks Peach, Daisy and Rosalina—
    Toadstools in tow,
    ready to get psychedelic.
    Link trips, Wario quips
    and things get heated.

    Mario and Wario—
    nose to nose,
    pixelated egos
    about to explode.
    Then Luigi jumps in
    and things go to blows,
    Waluigi throws
    punch after punch,
    in this Super Smash (Bros.)
    Melee.

    When the dust settles,
    it becomes clear—
    Bowser disappeared,
    and Peach isn’t here.
    Mario’s looking at
    Rosalina and Daisy,
    and both are looking shady.
    He snatches the shrooms,
    looking for a 1-Up—

    “Somebody get those
    from him,” shouts Luigi—
    “You know you can’t
    let that man have shrooms.
    You know what he’s
    about to do.
    He’ll stomp a Koopa or two,
    turn a Goomba blue—
    and act a fool.”

    “Ope, too late.”
    Mario’s eyes dilate,
    as he snatches
    the Master Sword—
    (Uh, wrong franchise.)
    He bolts out the door,
    in a flash. “Wait!”
    Kart tires squealin’,
    banana peelin’
    as he heads for the gate.

    As Luigi confronts
    Daisy and Rosalina—
    I walk to the door,
    to see flashing lights
    going down
    the long drive.

    “Oh shit, he got a star…”
    Turning back to the room,
    “What are we gonna do?
    We can’t stop him now!”

    Meanwhile,
    on the other side of town…
    Mario swerves
    in and out of traffic.
    Until he drifts
    and comes to a stop.
    Out he hopped,
    arm swinging as he walked.
    Master Sword propped
    on his shoulder,
    he approached the castle doors.

    Foot meets wood,
    and the door flies open.
    Mario steps in,
    sword at the ready—
    But it’s not Bowser that he sees,
    it’s… Toad?

    “Sorry, your Princess is in another Castle…”

    “WHAT THE FU…”

    Back at the party—
    Rosalina let it slip,
    Peach is a bit of a bitch.
    She’s playin’ Mario…
    “She cheated with Wario!?”
    And Waluigi too.
    Now, Bowser is the new dude—

    From the corner,
    a sharp laugh
    followed by a booming voice.
    “Y’all doin’ too much.”
    Heads snapped to the side,
    as the voice grabbed attention.
    Eyes wide. Bowser smirks.

    “Princess left the party, it’s true—
    but you think I’m the new dude?
    Absurd, Peach left with Kirby
    last I heard.”


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