AS YOU PERCEIVE

As You Perceive by Adiela Akoo

AS YOU PERCEIVE

I am a flower that blooms

perfume filtering the air

I am a veiled mystery

to hearts that don't understand

and eyes that cannot yet see...

I am a reflection

I am a teacher

I am the lesson

I am the yang and the yin

I am the quiet voice amidst the din

I am a stranger, and stranger yet

I am a beloved friend

a secret well kept

I am a seeker

and I have been sought

I have been crushed and ground

tempered by fire

I have been dead

and I have been reborn

with passion and desire

I am strong, yet gentle

fiery, yet cool

creating from destruction

I am nurturing, and feel you

in the hidden depths of your soul

I am ancient and I am young

I am a germinating seed

I write and I am written

I belong to The Love Creed!

But I remain, only as you perceive...

copyright Adiela Akoo

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This poem won the Poetry in my Mind August 2019 Poem Contest. It has been translated into Turkish, Bangla, and Odia. It has been published in The Penmen Review, SUFI Magazine, Best of Africa, Our Poetry Archive, Ozofe, ILA Magazine, World Poetry Tree, Best Emerging Poets of 2019, and Best New African Poets of 2020.

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As You Perceive - Adiela Akoo

As You Perceive by Adiela Akoo with Turkish translation by Hanifi Kaplan

As You Perceive by Adiela Akoo with Bangla translation by Mizanur Rahman