«What do you do when you don't want to be seen?» — Summary

What do you do when you don't want to be seen? How do you avoid the on looking eyes? Have you ever asked why people can be so mean? Do you notice all the lies? When all you want to do is cry out or scream Why do we stop ourselves? Why can it be so hard to let go? Why is there nothing that helps? Why can’t anyone know? When you want the noise to end How come it gets louder? How do you describe your darkest feelings? Do you ever feel like there's something on your shoulder? What stops our wounds from healing? When you don't want to feel broken How do you hold yourself together? Does it ever stop? Why can we “never say never”? How do you keep hope? These are but a few of the question That come and go through my mind But are never heard As they are never asked Now you may want to ask me why And the answer to that is simple I don’t ask because no one knows how to answer The answers to these questions Aren’t that simple

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Almost the whole poem is a string of questions, and that is the point. The speaker asks how to hide from watching eyes, why people are cruel, how to describe the darkest feelings, how to hold yourself together when you feel broken, and how to keep hope. There are no answers, only more questions piling up, which makes the poem feel like a mind that can't switch off.

The speaker feels lonely, overwhelmed, and tired of holding things in. The line about noise getting louder when you want it to end suggests anxiety or distress that grows the harder you fight it. The ending is the most striking part. These questions "are never heard" because they are never asked, and the speaker explains that no one asks because no one knows how to answer. The mood is quiet and heavy, but it is also honest. By saying the answers "aren't that simple," the speaker admits how big these feelings are, while the poem itself becomes a way of finally speaking them aloud.

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