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Poetry by Rowan Evans

Tag: social commentary poetry

  • Another Fire | A Poem About Chaos, Power, and a Fractured World

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from paying attention.

    Not just to your own life–but to the world as a whole. The patterns. The repetition. The way the same problems resurface, louder each time, while the people most affected are the ones with the least control over any of it.

    Another Fire comes from that place.

    It’s not a solution. It’s not even an attempt to be balanced.

    It’s a reaction–to the feeling that everything is happening all at once, that crises stack faster than they can be addressed, and that somewhere along the way, empathy gets lost in the noise.

    At its core, this piece questions something simple, but uncomfortable:

    How did we get to a point where it’s easier to see each other as enemies… than to question the systems that put us in conflict to begin with?

    This isn’t about having all the answers.

    It’s about refusing to look away.

    — Rowan Evans

    Person watching a city with multiple fires burning, symbolizing global chaos and systemic conflict
    While we burn, someone else decides where the fire spreads.

    Another Fire
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    I’ve been lost
    for a while now—
    eyes locked on the world.

    I’m just wondering how…
    how did we let it
    get like this?

    It’s a mess,
    everyone’s stressed—
    except the billionaires.

    Stacking money,
    sitting higher than fear.

    Profits rise
    as civilians die.

    And everywhere we look…
    another fire.

    We can’t tackle one problem,
    before five more pop up.
    It’s like we’re frozen—stuck.

    Half the population seems fine with it,
    the rest of us screaming,
    what the fuck?

    The whole world’s running out of luck.

    It’s like it’s designed
    to slowly chip away—
    grip, rip, strip away
    your humanity.

    Driving us straight
    into insanity.

    Because it’s insane to me—
    how we can look
    at another human being
    and see an enemy.

    When the only real enemy
    isn’t standing across from us—

    but above us.

    Deciding
    who fights,
    and who dies.

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

  • Government Time-Out – A Sharp Satirical Poem on Power and Accountability | Rowan Evans

    Rowan Evans

    Governments Behaving Badly: A Satirical Poetry Series [pt. 2]

    Author’s Note

    If Raising Governments is the exhale—laughter edged with frustration—then Government Time-Out is what comes after.

    The moment humor fades, and what’s left is clarity.

    This piece strips the satire down to something quieter, more direct. It’s still framed through the language of discipline, but the tone shifts from playful to firm—less about calling out behavior, and more about demanding accountability.

    There’s a difference between reacting and reflecting. Between explaining something away and actually sitting with it.

    Government Time-Out lives in that space.

    No noise.
    No spin.
    Just the uncomfortable weight of consequence.

    Because sometimes the most powerful thing you can do…
    is stop talking—and finally listen.

    — Rowan Evans

    Symbolic illustration of political figures portrayed as misbehaving children in a chaotic environment, representing satire and accountability.
    No more excuses. Sit with it.

    Government Time-Out
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    Sit down.
    No—actually, sit.

    We’re not doing this today.
    Not the yelling,
    not the threats,
    not the “I know better” attitude.

    You’ve had centuries
    to prove that.

    And yet—
    here we are.

    Hands in the cookie jar,
    crumbs on your face,
    still trying to say
    it wasn’t you.

    Really?

    You think we don’t see it?

    All the broken plates,
    the slammed doors,
    the mess you keep calling
    “necessary.”

    No.

    You don’t get to break things
    and call it order.

    You don’t get to hurt people
    and call it policy.

    So here’s what’s gonna happen.

    You’re going to sit there—
    quietly—
    and think about
    what you’ve done.

    No speeches.
    No spin.
    No rewriting the story
    to make yourself the hero.

    Just sit with it.

    Feel it.

    For once.

    And when you’re ready
    to act right—
    we’ll talk.

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

  • Raising Governments – A Satirical Poem About Political Immaturity | Rowan Evans

    Rowan Evans

    Governments Behaving Badly: A Satirical Poetry Series [pt. 1]

    Author’s Note

    Sometimes the only way to process the state of the world is to laugh at it.

    Raising Governments takes the chaos, contradictions, and immaturity often seen in global leadership and reframes it through something familiar: parenting. Not out of cruelty – but out of exhaustion. The kind that comes from watching the same mistakes repeat, over and over again.

    This piece leans into satire, using humor to highlight a deeper frustration – how systems meant to lead can sometimes feel reactive, impulsive, and disconnected from the people they affect.

    At its core, this isn’t just about governments.
    It’s about accountability.

    And the strange reality of feeling like the adults in the room… aren’t.

    — Rowan Evans

    Symbolic illustration of political figures portrayed as misbehaving children in a chaotic environment, representing satire and accountability.
    Sometimes the people in power act like children—and someone has to call it out.

    Raising Governments
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    Why are governments
    actin’ like bad kids,
    needing their ass whipped?
    Go and get the switch—
    you pick. We’re going back
    to the 90s and before.
    No corners for you, no more.

    I’m not mad, I’m just—
    disappointed.
    I’ll turn this car around.
    Don’t think I won’t,
    I can see you in the rear view.
    This is gonna hurt me,
    more than it does you.

    As soon as we get home,
    everyone to your rooms.
    I need a minute to breathe—
    collect myself.
    And your attitudes…
    they don’t help.

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

  • Imaginary Lines – A Poem About Borders, Identity & Shared Humanity

    Rowan Evans

    Author’s Note

    This piece came from a lifelong feeling of distance – not just from place, but from the way people divide themselves.

    It isn’t anti-country. It isn’t anti-culture. It’s anti-separation.

    I’ve never understood how imaginary lines on maps can outweigh shared humanity. This poem is me saying plainly what I’ve felt for years: we are far more alike than we are different, and the borders we defend so fiercely don’t exist in our blood or our bones.

    This isn’t rebellion for the sake of rebellion.
    It’s clarity.

    — Rowan Evans

    A symbolic image of a cracked border line beneath a star-filled sky, representing unity beyond national divisions.
    The border isn’t the edge of the world. It’s the edge of perception.

    Imaginary Lines
    Poetry by Rowan Evans

    I don’t feel
    like I’m from here,
    like I come from out
    beyond the stars—
    somewhere far,
    lightyears beyond mars.

    I watch and observe,
    as humans continue
    to act absurd.
    It’s like they
    don’t know how
    to act.
    Kind of like
    they don’t know how
    to treat each other.

    Focused on imaginary lines,
    barriers and borders.
    With a—
    if you’re not like me,
    you’re the enemy
    mentality.

    When you bleed
    it all looks the same.
    Human is human.
    The rest is costume.

    No passport in the bloodstream.
    No nation in the bone.

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