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
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
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
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
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 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
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
PIECE OF YOUR HEART.
Chorus
Just a give me a piece of your heart and I will bite – 2x
Verse 1:
I love it when you run your fingers through my hair
I love it when you plant your kisses everywhere
I love it when you laugh at the silly things I do
I love it when you tell me how you love me too
Rpt CHORUS
Bridge 1:
There’s something about how you watch me – yeah yeah
There’s something about how you touch me – yeah yeah
There’s something about how you’re walking – yeah yeah
There’s something about how you’re talking – yeah yeah
Hauu.. hauu.. Hauu.. huhuhu..
Verse 2:
Your heart is sunshine when I’m feeling black and blue
Your smile is music when I don’t know what to do
Your kiss is magic when I need some company
Your eyes are full of what your heart is wishing me
Rpt CHORUS
Bridge 2:
A gentle piece, full of love like the gentle seas
Cool me down like a gentle breeze
I feel at home and at ease, so please
Take me in and never let me out
Teach me what love is all about
If I am down, share this ground with me
When the sun comes up then rise with me
And then
Hold me hold me, hold me hold me, hold me hold me, never never leave me – 3x
‘Cause I just need your company
Epilogue:
Piece of your heart… and I will bite… (rptdly)
PIECE OF YOUR HEART
Lyrics & Music (c) Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
It’s always amusing to me When in the midst of a White Sea I see one Black face And when he or she sees me They seem to panic visibly And avert their face Avoiding eye contact completely And seem to be begging me Not to look at their face Immersed in their White company Proving hard to them their loyalty. To save their face After looking at them thoughtfully For a while, I walk past them gently With a calm face Because we don’t altercate publicly We will do that when next we see Face to face. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
You‘ll be there sitting by yourself
And the world will come and meet you;
Your race will jump out like a shell
Between you and all that greet you;
Protecting you from some,
Separating you from some,
Making you invisible to many;
Making you scary to some,
Making you hated by some;
Making you a clichéd image to many;
Connecting you to others,
Uniting you with others,
Making you visible to this many.
And there’s nothing you can do about it
As if it were exactly how nature intended it.
You‘ll be there sitting by yourself
And the world will come and meet you.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 