Fareed Agyakwah
Biography:
Fareed Agyakwah
Fareed Agyakwah is a celebrated Ghanaian poet, author, and literary scholar whose work resonates deeply within the landscape of contemporary African literature. Known for his evocative language and reflective themes, Agyakwah writes passionately about peace, identity, and the human condition. His poetry has been featured in several esteemed international anthologies, including Wreaths for a Wayfarer: An Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi, the Best New African Poets 2019 Anthology, and the World Poetry Yearbook, 2024.
His published collection, A Child’s Poetry for Peace, reflects his vision of using literature as a vehicle for harmony and social consciousness. In recognition of his poetic excellence, Agyakwah has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Temirqazyq – Best Poet-Writer of the World 2019 and the honorary title of Miembro de Honor 2020.
Agyakwah continues to impact both the literary and academic worlds, actively sharing his work and insights through research platforms and social media, while nurturing a global readership with his daring and distinctive poetic voice.
Show Truth
(In the voice of the ancestors)
1.
Show truth, child of the soil,
Let your tongue not wear the mask of fear.
Truth is the elder sitting under the iroko tree,
Silent, but watching,
Patient, but powerful.
Show truth—
Not with the loudness of drums,
But with the decidedness of a stick
That does not falter on the head of a snake,
With the steadiness of footsteps
That remember where the thorns once bled.
For now the chief sells the land twice,
His fingers greased by the hunger of gold—
He forgets that the land buries the bones of his fathers.
He carves out the soul of the village,
Then dances at the edge of its silence.
The politician wraps his lies in smock,
Says, “I’m here for you, it is possible”
While his hands dig deep into the harvest.
He builds monuments to himself
Where the people's children still sleep on dust.
And the people—
Quick to fling stories like stones,
Lies that break what truth cannot mend.
They speak with tongues that drip poison,
Unbothered by the wounds they carve into others.
But still—show truth.
Even when it stands alone in the square.
Even when it is mocked by the laughing crowd.
Show truth,
Not just in word,
But in the way your bead dances upon your wrist—
Unashamed, and whole.
2.
Show Truth
(In the voice of the youth)
We have heard the whispers beneath the iroko tree,
The breath of truth rising from ancestral dust.
Now we speak—not with borrowed tongues,
But with voices cracked open by hunger,
By hashtags,
By sirens in the streets.
Show truth—
Not dressed in suits for votes,
But in ripped jeans,
In calloused hands that build and protest,
In the rage that still knows how to hope.
We see the land sold beneath our feet,
The ink of betrayal staining village deeds,
And we ask—how do you kiss on graves
And still call yourself a chief?
We see leaders with sweet mouths
And sugarcoated policies,
But we are not fooled by slogans—
We read between the lines,
We know when a promise is priced for profit.
Show truth,
Even when algorithms silence it,
Even when speaking it costs your job,
Even when your voice shakes.
We are the living—
And truth is not ancient relic or proverb,
It is our rebellion, our healing,
Our song in a world that forgets its rhythm.
So we show truth—
Not only in protests and poems,
But in the way we rise when silenced,
The way we love with scars unhidden,
And the way our beads still dance upon our wrists—
Bold, unbroken, and loud.
