What You Hide Hides You - A Poem
July 2026 marks exactly two years since an incredibly eventful and defining period in my life. In recent blogs, I have published poems, written at the time, that captured how I felt in those dark moments. Looking back in the rearview mirror, I have reflected on how that baptism of fire has formed me and unlocked my healing, even though at the time, I could not see the wood from the trees.
As I searched for inspiration for this blog post, I remembered my moment of catharsis and felt deeply moved and inspired to write a new poem, now that I can see the trees from the wood. In that historical moment, I was at my wits' end, fell to my knees, and, at the deepest level of my being, found the courage to have a hopeful, expectant, and faithful private conversation with God. I said:
“I know you exist, and you must be just, but how are you just when I have been in so much pain for so long? I feel I am in a prison and the keys have been thrown away. Tell me, why is this my fate? How is that fair? Is this my fate—a fate you condemned me to? I want to know why. If my fate is in my hands, I want to know how I can get out of this prison and drive my fate.” I asked God to speak, to show me the way, and I promised to listen with an open heart, ears, and eyes.
I remember that moment vividly, a memory also captured contemporaneously in my voice journal. Over the course of the last couple of days, between July 20th and 23rd, my assignment was to write the poem below. I went back in time to that specific moment in my mind, capturing it for posterity in my poem.
What You Hide Hides You
Hassan Aden - July 2026
What you
Hide
Hides you
I am resilient, I said.
I am independent, I thought.
Heavy is the price I paid
And pain is all I bought.
I had many a mental breakdown,
I became a shadow of myself.
My body broke down,
My soul left to fend for itself.
What you
Hide
Hides you
It told me no one would understand:
You are meant to weather alone the storm.
On your feet only you are meant to stand—
In life, it is the way, the norm.
"Don’t be a coward, whether a man or woman.
Deny, deflect, and defend,
Or you are no longer a man or woman,
Or you are defective and beyond mend."
What you
Hide
Hides you
Emotion is like a rogue
Avoid it like the plague
Excise the little left from your soul
Feeling is the enemy
Being numb is the way
Vulnerability is weak
It is harboured only by the meek
Humanity and vulnerability, mix not
Like oil and water, they can not
What you
Hide
Hides you
All alone with my thoughts,
The devil hiding in my thoughts.
All alone with my doubts,
The devil hiding in my doubts,
Whispering: "United we stand,
Divided we fall.
A house divided against itself cannot stand."
What you
Face
Frees you
I cried out aloud in silence:
"There must be another way."
A calm voice said: "You are isolated.
I understand you are feeling frustrated.
You are on the verge of being annihilated.
You cannot run away, these happenings are fated.
There is no point lamenting, your cries have faded.
I know you waited forever for help, but you are hated.
Otherwise, why the broken mind, body, and soul? You are violated.
God, Fate, or Destiny has deserted you and I, this was all calculated."
What you
Face
Frees you
I cried out aloud again, in hope:
"There must be another way.
God, speak, please,
Or forever, hold your peace—
What have I done to deserve desertion?
What have I done to deserve desolation?
What have I done to deserve dissociation?"
What you
Face
Frees you
I cried out aloud again, in expectation:
"There must be another way.
God, speak, please,
Or forever, hold your peace—
What have I done to deserve rejection?
What have I done to deserve repudiation?
What have I done to deserve remonstration?"
What you
Face
Frees you
I cried out aloud again, in faith:
“There must be another way.”
God, speak, please,
Or forever, hold your peace—
I know God is good; He must be just.
Maybe my thinking is muddled;
I know, I feel almost always befuddled.
I know, I have many times, on my knees, stumbled,
And, exhausted and isolated, nervously my feet shuffled.
What you
Choose
Chooses you
A loving voice, warm and reassuring, spoke softly and said
“I am here.
I was always here.
I will always be here.
I missed you, and I am ecstatic you are finally here.
I have never left your side.
I knew one day you would come to My side.
And we would move hand in hand, side by side.
If only you knew how many times I called out in hope, cried out
Aloud
Softly
Silently
If only you knew how many times I called out in expectation, sent
Signals
Symbols
Signs
If only you knew how many times I called out with faith, sent
People of knowledge
People of wisdom
People that heal
Open your heart, ears, and eyes, and hear Me, say again;
"If you think how you always thought,
If you talk how you always talked,
If you do what you always did,
You will get results you always got."
What you
Choose
Chooses you
Have you asked yourself?
"How do others ahead of you think?
How do others ahead of you talk?
What do others ahead of you do?
And what results do they always get?"
What you
Choose
Chooses you
"Are they not an example for you?
Have I not sent down people of knowledge?
Have I not sent down people of wisdom?
Have I not sent down people who heal?
Are you deaf, dumb and blind?
Have I not given you ears to hear?
Have I not given you eyes to see?
Have I not given you a mind to think?
Have I not given you a body to move?
Have I not given you emotion to emote?
Have I not given you feelings to feel?
Have I not given you a heart for courage?
Have I not given you a soul for spirit?
Have I not given you lovers to love?
Have I not given you family to cherish?
Have I not given you friends to befriend?
Have I not given you community to commune?
Have I not given you the means to mean?"
What you
Choose
Chooses you
"Every soul has been given a burden to carry,
Nothing more or less than it can carry.
It is not what happened to you that matters;
It is how you respond to it.
Many have been given heavier burdens than you;
They have responded with courage, and prevailed.
Many have been given lighter burdens than you;
They have responded with despair, and failed.
Every soul has a choice: to respond with despair or courage—
Fail or prevail."
"Every soul has a burden to carry,
Nothing more or less than it can carry.
It is not what happened to the soul that matters;
It is the way the soul responds that matters;
Many have been given heavier burdens;
They have responded with courage, and prevailed.
Many have been given lighter burdens;
They have responded with despair, and failed.
Every soul gets a calling;
Do you continue to travel the path of despair
Or choose to be present, courageous, and to repair.”
What you
Choose
Chooses you
Every soul travel two paths
Two paths diverge in a wood
Only one will be good
Take the one less travelled
And that will make all the difference
📖 What You Hide Hides You: The Memoir
This poem is the emotional pillar and centrepiece of my upcoming book, What You Hide Hides You, releasing in late 2026. The book covers the full, raw narrative of the baptism of fire that broke me down, the unvarnished journals from my recovery, and the practical blueprint for reclaiming your presence, courage, and spirit. Sign up for my newsletter below to get exclusive behind-the-scenes chapters and be the first to know when pre-orders go live.
