A stroll through the curious trees Respectfully quiet to put you at ease What you hear is the noonday breeze Tell us your thoughts, human, if you please. But you hear neither the watching trees Nor the quietly questioning noonday breeze All you know - correct me, if you please - Is that in your heart you simply feel at ease. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
English
FORGET ME NOT
That deep moment When the grass is calm The gale is spent Nature is bent On being your heart’s balm A busy butterfly Like a restless thought Flutters by Waving hi and goodbye Forget me not Forget me not. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
LAW OF THE L
Take your L Take it well No one can tell Why you fell Did your pride swell? It rings a bell It broke your shell Take it well I wish you well Time will tell And heal you well Heaven and Hell Understanding your L Will break the spell And make you well. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
*L stands for Loss.
HELP COMES
Things that long seemed impossible Manifest suddenly just before the window Of opportunity closes. Many a miracle Is undramatic, almost mundane, a narrow Dirt track fit for walking or at best a bicycle running beside a highway leading to hollow Shallow goals for the spiritually superficial And there right next to it, quiet and mellow This simple path opens up with no noticeable Features except this: it is your heart’s echo Returning long after you sent an inaudible Piercing cry for help. Swing chariot, swing low, Swooping down out of the blue Inconceivable And carrying me home to a better tomorrow. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THAT ONE
You can come as close to me as you want You still cannot get in. You can go as deep into me as you want But still deep within My heart there is a door And if you’re not the one it’s meant for You can’t get in. You can go as far away from me as possible You still remain inside me I can push you as far away from me as possible But still deep inside me There is one tender space And you alone live inside this place That is the home in me. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
PAIN YIELDS GAIN
Bearing pain Is like rearing Gain - You tend it patiently ‘Til it yields fruits abundantly And then you plant again. It’s a circle of pain The farmer breaks the ground to plant the seed The seed breaks its shell to yield the feed Our teeth crush the feed to tend our need Our need disciplines itself not to turn into greed So that we still retain enough feed To sow again. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
WHAT YOU FELT YOU WOULD FEEL
When the worst happens, The thing you fear the most, A strange thing happens: Your fear becomes a ghost. It was never real, It was imagination, It was expectation - What you felt you would feel. But aren’t we spirit? Pain is the hand That forces us to grow and to understand There’s nothing ‘twixt the sea and the sand That can’t be healed by spirit’s magic wand. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I’M FINE
How are you today?I’m still hurting from yesterday I don’t know what to say I’m very sad even when I play Lord, heal my broken heart, I pray I’m lost, I can’t find the way… - I’m fine, thank you And you? Thank you I’m fine too. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
TRANSIENCE
You cannot reproduce the past What is gone is gone The present was never built to last A moment later, it is done. Over and done with. All that’s left to reminisce on Will be legend and myth. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
REVERSER
Recognitions await the explorer The tail wags the dog Sometimes when they play The ears wade through the fog When eyes can’t see the way Nearer is not always clearer The fire comes from the log There’s also sadness in May Our life is our only authentic blog What we do says more than what we say Even a mirror needs a mirror A princess prefers a frog The night is the dreamers’ day Quiet people are also intensely agog With excitement they don‘t display To think otherwise would be an error. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 