Author’s Note

Sometimes the mind shifts slightly out of alignment. Not enough to call it depression or anxiety – just enough to feel off-center.

This piece came from trying to describe that strange mental state where nothing is obviously wrong, yet everything feels a little disconnected. In moments like that, even a single steady thread can be enough to help you find your way back.

— Rowan Evans

Off-Center, Still Tethered
Poetry by Rowan Evans

I don’t feel like myself lately.
Like something is a little off, maybe.
Something in my mental health slipped,
it’s not depression or anxiety—
it’s something else entirely.

I’m not sad—just disconnected,
severed threads rest on the ground
around me as I sit in my mind—
mentally exhausted. Body on autopilot.
It’s like the floor shifted slightly,
half an inch to the left
when I wasn’t looking.
Now every step feels right,
but not quite—
like something’s missing.

I’ve always found
that my mind
and the world
didn’t align.
So I’ve always been
a little off center.
But this is more than that,
it’s like a panic attack
without the panic,
not to be dramatic.

It’s like depression,
without the sadness.
Just heavy weight,
overwhelm and
lack of motivation
in social situations.

That piles on,
now I’m overwhelmed
and feeling guilty.
So I disappear into myself,
but there’s one thread left
tethered to the outside—
the one constant in my thoughts.

It’s the same thread
that it’s always been,
for the last year now.
The same thoughts,
that have kept me grounded—
even when my head was in the clouds.
So it is that thread,
I will follow
to find my way out.

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