2013

DEMYSTIFICATION

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

I did not want to talk to her.
It was enough, this distance
Was a canvas on which I could
Her Beauty admire, enjoy my desire
In its state of perfection
But, oh!, I spoke to her. She broke
The mirror in which I admired the reflection
Of my perfect her.

Who is this shell
Talking to, touching, lying beside me?
Falling fast like a rock that
Was lifted too high for its own good.
The moon is beautiful
Only from afar.
Before you demystify her, stop
And take one last look at what you’re about to lose.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

I SAW LONELINESS

~ Che ~ 7 Comments

I saw loneliness tonight – she
Was sitting in the corner, in her fifties
Smoking a cigarette and watching
Laughter dancing on the young dancefloor.
For a while, her husband sat next to her
And she smiled and joked with him and
His friends. When they left to get a drink
She sat quietly in her thoughts and
As her eyes roved quietly over the
Dancefloor, our eyes met. And then I saw
Loneliness.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

FAMILIAR INTIMACY

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

Why do people grow lonely
In a union warm and homely?
I have heard of walls that rise
So slowly it comes as a surprise
To find out that familiarity kills
The very intimacy that it fulfils.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

ELOPERS

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It is a story that always breaks and
Runs away from its observers
Like the baffling speed of light

No outsider ever understands what is happening
When it’s happening
Always it breaks the fabric of logic

Only the two lovers themselves, only they
Who follow the inner call of shared love
Understand the logic of magic.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

DIVIDE AND RULE

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

Look for someone who has ambition
Then use him – or her, my dear – to block the ascent of
The one who has true ability.
For, the one with genuine ability is
The real threat to you.

I reckon someone whispered these words into
The ears of every dictator and every colonizer
Every leader and every conqueror and
Every CEO and manager, supervisor and general manager
That ever lived

Or else they would not all be doing it
So excellently.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

EMPFANGEN

~ Che ~ 3 Comments

Manchmal kann man einen Menschen
Nach nur einer Begegnung viel besser verstehen
Als nach zehn Treffen

Wie manch ein Zaubergedicht, dessen Bedeutung
Man beim ersten Lesen voll und ganz tief empfing

Und bei weiterem Lesen
kompliziert und mühsam selber
Versucht,
gewaltsam denkend
dem Gedicht abzuringen

Vergebens.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

DON’T SHOOT

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When a gun shouts
It sounds like a whip on crack
So why are you laying that wound
On your brother,
Brother?

You have none other than
The last one you just buried
Those graves are not for the brave
Your brother’s life is all you have,
Brother.

Soldier soldier don’t shoot
Fingerfood for thought is trigger for the unhappy
A life in exchange for a shot
And you call that a fair deal?
Poor substitute.

But they say, look here
We don’t like all these heavy words.
Give us laughter, give us comfort, give us food
Give us pride, give us a shining ring
Or, if you can, give us hope.

Someone has to get up
Someone has to get up first.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

ỤWA NWANNE

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Mepee ntị, gee ntị…
Ịhụnanya na-agụ egwu
N’ime obi gị…

Anyị bụ otu –

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

SOLIDARITY WITH SELF

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Your brother in the ghetto
Is still your brother –

He might not have attended
The same type of schools as you did

He might not have acquired
The same kind of polish as you did

He might not even know
That you’re not as different from him

As he thinks
He might think

What you think: you’ve become strangers
No. He is still your brother

And when a bullet comes in the dark
It can’t tell the difference between you and you.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

EDUCATION FOR ALL

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

They can’t read
But they can read

The signs on the wall
They can read between the lines
When the educated are talking
They can read your thoughts
In your eyes

When you’re lying to them
They just don’t have the words
To explain that all they need
Is a seed of true knowledge planted
Into their minds when they were young.

Someone has to walk ahead
When others are looking
For someone to follow.
How many generations will fall like
Autumn leaves, wasted beauty?

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.