Sie besitzt mein Herz und führt mich durch Sehnsucht und Schmerz einwärts, aufwärts und heimwärts. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
UNSATISFACTORY
When sex becomes meaningless And repetition brings no satisfaction And enjoyment morphs into stress And indulgence brings overstimulation And more is less, more or less, The spirit slowly begins to dread temptation, Hard to resist, hard to satisfy The art of the lie and of the Lie, The bitter cup shall pass none by. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
DER WALD HAT SICH VERÄNDERT
Der Wald hat sich verändert. Als ich das erste Mal hier war, vor 30 Jahren, war er anders, warm, gesprächig, magisch sogar. Dann ging ich in die Welt und erlebte und wurde älter und veränderte mich und als ich zurück kam und den Wald besuchte, schaute er mich an und veränderte sich. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
BLACK IN
We Are the Same - Just as capable Just as valuable - Just as intelligent Just as resilient - Just as determined To even out the score And you cannot put me down I have not yet had enough I want some more What are we waiting for? Black does not belong to the back But to the front and will come back To the fore Through the front Door. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
VERZICHT
Ich schmeckte die ganze Welt und wurde nicht befriedigt - Ich verzichtete auf die halbe Welt und mehr und wurde befriedigt. Wer kann mir das erklären? Die Dinge, die wir begehren, Sie werden uns verzehren. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
SNIPPETS
Hard words are sometimes the kindest Foraging eyes are sometimes the blindest Life’s help is sometimes to put you to the test It pushes you to move when you long to rest I’ve never wanted something so badly before I’ve never eaten to my fill and still wanted some more I’ve never said goodbye and continued to feel so sore I’ve never been so trapped before in a folklore So many new things starting at the same time Be patient when you’re looking for the right rhyme Little doses of salt and pepper, curry and thyme Life is sometimes a little sugar, sometimes a little lime I love like Haily’s comet, ever and again I come again Laughter fills my heart again and conquers the pain I can’t explain it, I am a lake and I am the rain And so are you, and every end is just another refrain. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE MOST VULNERABLE THING
The most vulnerable thing in this world is to open up to a person, to show the person your secrets and your true condition. To share with the person your dreams, your hopes, your fears, your phobia, your trauma, your beliefs, your feelings, your propensities, your weaknesses, your childlikeness, your unprotected true nature.
When you have thus exposed yourself to a person, vulnerable to the core, and the person – after taking a good look at you – rejects or betrays you, and directly or indirectly communicates to you that they find you to be unworthy of them, the damage that this experience can cause to a human soul is almost beyond the purview of what words can accurately describe. It is exceedingly humiliating, dehumanising, and robs you of your sense of self-worth.
It also gives reason to ask yourself, if you too have ever done the same to another human being, maybe even without realising it, and maybe you have even forgotten it. If you have, then it pays to reflect on how to reach those people once more and offer them correction, retribution, a cure, or just true heartfelt apology and remorse for having broken their soul.
Most of all, though, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the question of whether a human being’s sense of self-worth should at all be wholly or partly dependent on how they are seen or held or treated by another human being, probably one whom they love, or sometimes even a stranger. Or whether a human being’s sense of worth should be rooted only and solely in their own inner strength and inner dignity and Inner fidelity to their own core values. Or if it is a mixture of both extremes.
One thing is for sure, though, and that is that no matter how we see it, the reality is that even the strongest people are affected by how they are seen and treating by one person or the other, consciously or unconsciously, either a stranger or more commonly someone that they deeply love. No matter how we see it, we owe the duty to ourselves as human beings to be thoughtful, careful, honest – honest to ourselves and also honest to others – in order not to disappoint a valid expectation of reflected worthiness.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
WERT VOLL
Das Leben wird härter
Das Herz wird zarter
Ehrlichkeit wird mir immer werter
Wert voller
Menschen sind toller
wenn sie ehrlich sind –
egal wie schlimm sie sonst sind –
solange sie ehrlich sind.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
ON THE STREET
There are people who live on the street The street’s human face and heartbeat By rain and sun, by snow and by sleet These are those people that we meet Shuffling past and huddling by our feet Who we glance barely by and rarely greet Kindness, it seems, is truly a mean feat. Arw we afraid to share in their defeat? Is life a race in which we all compete? Does shame force the broken to retreat? Do losers get an opportunity to repeat? People at their lowest don’t need our conceit. A part of ourselves lives on the street Looking for dignity, a roof and something to eat. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
ABENDWESEN
Ich fühle den Abend wie ein Wesen,
das mich umarmt, wenn ich einsam bin –
Es ist spät, es ist sehr viel gewesen,
gewesen und ist nicht mehr. Ruhe. Abendsinn.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 