Fareed Agyakwah
The Servant Who Leads
by Fareed Agyakwah
(Honored Poet, Ghana)He arrived with dusty shoes, speaking of suffering.
Now, his shoes mirror the sun,
And eclipse his promises.
He says the nation is rising—
But the people are perishing proper.
He calls their pain growth.
Quotes humility from golden pulpits,
Sips from wells meant for the many.
He calls this access.
We call it absence.
He says history will remember him kindly,
While rewriting today with stony silence.
He holds national prayers for peace—
As soldiers stalk the slums.
He leaves behind statues, not solutions-
Everything he stood for,
Pulled down by angry mob.
Crystal clear greed found among the rubble.
Whoever sows the wind, reaps the whirlwind.
(January 29, 2025, Accra)
Poet’s Note
This poem is a satirical lament for the irony embedded in African leadership—the servant turned master, the healer turned harmer. With restrained tone and clear imagery, The Servant Who Leads mirrors reality for millions who watch their dreams gather dust in political speeches. The poem walks the thin line between reverence and ridicule, between truth and theatrics.Agyakwah ends the poem with an allusion to Hosea 8:7 which says "For they sow the wind, and reaps the whirlwind".
Author Bio
Fareed Agyakwah is a Ghanaian poet, author, and literary advocate whose works have appeared in Best New African Poets, Wreaths for a Wayfarer and World Poetry Yearbook. Author of A Child’s Poetry for Peace, he writes with lyrical depth and socio-political insight. Agyakwah’s poetry often merges the personal and the political, seeking truth amid irony. This poem echoes his recurring theme: leadership should mean service, not self-celebration.
