MARCH TOWARDS APRIL

So many things ending in my life this month, as March ends. And so many things starting. Looking forward to April. Is my heart big enough to contain and bear it all? Yes, my heart is always big enough. And when it isn’t, it simply grows some more, grows again.

Aries, as ever, you end the old and bring the new. For me, to me, in me.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

REISEABSCHNITTE

Manche reisen alleine zu zweit
Andere reisen zu zweit allein
Ein Flugzeug erzählt viele Geschichten
Fliegen ist ein versammeltes einsam-Sein
Der eine schaut zurück auf die Vergangenheit
Die andere blickt nach Vorne in die Zukunft
Jemand schläft und jemand guckt Fernsehen
Alle warten auf die Ankunft.

Aber selten kommt man an, wenn man ankommt -
Die Reise geht meistens weiter…
Ich war nur der Flug-, nicht der Lebens-, Begleiter.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung

AFTERMATH

It took me a while to acknowledge and accept the betrayal. And the permanent change. It is what it is. But now that I have, I have. Now, we can successfully pretend, together and apart, that it never happened; and that we were never that close. Now the bond is broken. The intimate bond of trust.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

BONDS

We belong to God,
Not to one another.
Possessiveness is flawed,
No one owns the other.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

ONLY ONE PERSON

When only one person’s attention matters to you, only one person’s smiles and words and approval really matter to you, over a long and sustained period of time, then you know that your heart has really been taken and, even more importantly, your heart has truly voluntarily given itself to someone. Then you know you’re really in love.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

WIEDERBELEBUNG

Neue Seiten von mir
Kommen wieder zum Leben.

Wieder. Denn sie waren eben
In alten Zeiten bereits hier.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung

INTERACTIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS  

Envy and Jealousy and Possessiveness. Distrust and Disloyalty and the breaking of Promises. Not knowing one’s boundaries. Untoward and unjustified claims upon the other. Intrusiveness. Space and vicinity. Balance. Knowing the line between giving and taking, between being there and crossing boundaries, between being close enough and being too close for comfort. Knowing which demands and expectations are legitimate and must be met, and which ones are too intrusive. Respect. Mutual respect. Consideration for the other’s nature. Making the effort to know the other better. Carefulness. Intimacy. Understanding the different layers and forms of intimacy, and knowing which ones to share with which people, which ones apply within which forms of friendship, which ones are exclusive and which ones are inclusive. You can connect with many people deeply, and each connection is different. But there is a certain connection that can only be shared with one, or none, at every point in time. Truthfulness and honesty and trust and bravery. Trust is a form of bravery. Reciprocity in our relationships with one another.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

THE DOGS OF WAR AGAIN

The fogs of war
Clouding and blinding -
The cogs of war
Tripping up and grinding -
The bogs of war
Weighing down and binding -
The blogs of war
Lying, agitating, not minding -
The dogs of war
Stuck in the past, rewinding.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

EIN VÖLLIG NORMALER TAG

Ein Tag genügt
um ein Leben zu durchleben
Alles - Liebe und Hass
tauschen, nehmen und geben

Wachsen oder zurückfallen,
verstehen oder vergessen,
stecken bleiben oder weitergehen -
und unterdessen

einen völlig normalen Tag
äußerlich leben.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung

HEALING

Thinking of tomorrow
Of when you‘ll be gone
Your name is Sorrow
And your work is almost done.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river