There is always a moment
That one moment
When a connection can take place
That moment was silent
We spent it masking face
In a superficial space
And it came and went.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
English
UNMISSING
You stole my heart But when you gave it back It was no longer a part Of the things that I lack. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
JUST ONE TEAR
A tear will travel longer distances
Than a river
A tear will dig deeper holes
Than a sea
A tear will rise higher
That clouds and mountains
A tear will break the strongest heart
Irreparably.
Just one tear
Will drown the whole earth
Just one tear
Will water the garden in your heart.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
TOWER BRIDGE
This Bridge connects ghosts with the living.
Some want revenge. A few will be forgiving.
This Bridge connects the past with the present
And those whose stories in history books are absent.
The river flows with blood and memory
Of empire, kingdom, ship and colony
And wealth deeper and darker than money.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
ANCIENT SPIRITS
Give me ten minutes And I‘ll give you a million years of reincarnation Locked within my heart. No limits. Everybody I meet is my next destination. Don’t think I am just this person you see, Born a few decades ago - just recently. I, like you, am ancient, like the sand and the sea. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
FORGETTING AND FOCUSING
I dreamt that something did not arrive But think now as I may I cannot remember What it was in the night that didn’t arrive As though the memory I don’t remember Is itself what it was that did not arrive. Morning comes and I am alive Full of tomorrow’s energy and drive So I wonder what it was I forgot today I guess it must be yesterday. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE TURNING POINT
Sometimes you can‘t really tell When or why you lost interest in a person When exactly the bondage fell And you finally understood life’s lesson Being mediated to you through them A fallen leaf is a priceless gem It mothers and yields a new rising stem. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOU MUST BE PATIENT
There will be hope But the heart must cope First with a season Of conflict sans reason This moon is long faced And tied to a dead sea Rolling scrolls misplaced By startled history. You must be patient Time is clairaudient It hears your heart beating And your footfalls repeating The dance to victory. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE RIVER IS RUNNING
The river is running The river of blood Swallowing up, drowning The kwashiorkor road A finger on a trigger Is going to pull one day Mushroom clouds bigger Than any from yesterday. The time has come again To learn how to survive And stand alone in your pain If only you are left alive Children torn from parents Friends and families will scatter In wars between governments Of people who think they matter. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
AGE OF DAMAGE
This is a war that has been waiting to happen They don’t love each other and never did They are not forgiving each other deeds overlapping Generations whose hatred they never hid They send missiles to greet each other The way you and I send words to one another When we’re angry and pain does not bother To differentiate between strangers and brothers It is the age of damage The stage of rage and carnage Angry birds in an iron cage Trapped in rampage. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 