The Ones Who Stayed

Hakan Amin

The young poet writes about the painful adolescent path of vetting real friendships from fake ones.

'Hidden Publish' by Hamza Ahmed (oil on canvas; 2026)

I used to think those friendships were real,

But time has a way of showing what people conceal.

They didn’t leave because life became hard,

They left because their loyalty was just a façade.

Their words once sounded honest and kind,

But their actions slowly changed my mind.

What I thought was friendship faded away,

And the truth came out day by day.

Like Caesar trusted Brutus, I believed them too

Not knowing those I trusted could be the most untrue.

A dagger doesn't always come from an enemy’s hand

Sometimes it's the people closest to you that stab you in the back.

But now I’m surrounded by friends who are real,

The people I know who would never bail.

No fights, no lies, nothing to hide

Just honest hearts standing side by side.

They know my secrets, they know my flaws

Yet they never doubt me, not at all.

They stand beside me through thick and thin

Together we pray, together we sin.

I would never let go of these friends

They are not fake, they don’t pretend

They are honest and they are kind—

Friends like that are hard to find.

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Hakan Amin is a 16-year-old student at TNS with a love for football and writing. While football is where he expresses himself physically, poetry is where he makes sense of his thoughts. He doesn't usually write with an audience in mind; most of his poems begin as private reflections, written in moments of deep thought. For Hakan, poetry is less about being read and more about capturing emotions as honestly as they come. This publication marks the first time he has chosen to share a piece of that personal world with others.

Hamza Ahmed is a visual artist based in Lahore. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Punjab University College of Art and Design in 2025. His practice explores human connections, emotional transformations, and shifting perceptions. His work has been exhibited at Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore Museum, VM Sanctuary Karachi, COMSATS University Islamabad, Muse Art Gallery, Islamabad Art Gallery, O Art Space, Ocean Art Gallery and Ejaz Art Gallery with upcoming group exhibitions at ArtSoch Contemporary.