SWAN SONG

Always remember one thing
If it’s true love it can’t move on overnight
It has to close its ring
Heal its wound, acquire new insight
And make the heart a swan-song sing.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

EACH ONE HEAL ONE

We all have that one person who we don’t like to think of, but who we also never forget. That one person, the thought of whom causes us so much pain and anger. That one person who hurt us, or deceived us, or betrayed us, or belittled us and made us feel so small, or took advantage of us, or kicked us when we were down and weak, or made a fool of us, or stole what was precious from us, or led us astray, or lied against us, or harmed us.Maybe it was that one person who we trusted deeply and who betrayed this trust. That one person who left a permanent scar in our heart. We all have that one person who we don’t like to think about but who we also never forget.

And that person also has the one person who they don’t like to think about but who they also never forget. And so it goes round and round in a circle, and we are all locked and connected in a net of pain and disappointment and bitterness and betrayal and memory and hurt. And regret. No one is spared, no one is innocent, no one is free of pain or of guilt. We are the ones who teach each other the lessons of life and of the vagaries of the human heart. We are all we have. Those that hurt you and those that harm you and those that heal you and those that hug you and those that have you are all the same people. Everybody has touched somebody. And everybody has been touched by somebody. Each one hurt one. Each one heal one. Forgive, and move on.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

YEAR OF ACHING

What a difference a year can make
Depending on the path you take
The pillars you shake
The bonds you break
The demons or the angels you wake
And the thirsts you slake.

For whose or for what’s sake?
For something real or for something fake?
Some say the heart is a lake
Beneath its surface there swims a snake
Your happiness is at stake
And yet all you seem to do is ache and ache.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

FIGHT FOR IT

You have to fight to be free -
True freedom, inner freedom -
Fight your fears and anxiety,
The chains of your inner fiefdom;
Fight your propensity and proclivity
For weakening pleasure ;
Fight your despondency
And fight your insecurity
With courageous Hope in equal measure.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

PATTERNS

One thing about life
Patterns repeat themselves
Next thing about life
Patterns repeat themselves
Another thing about life
Patterns repeat themselves

Until you break them.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

LOOKING EVERYWHERE

When people find what they are looking for
They find it’s not what they are looking for
And then they begin to look for
Clarity about what they are really looking for.

And they look for clarity everywhere,
In everything, in every way, they dare
Every adventure, no matter how rare,
Every experience that might get them there.

Because the possession of clarity
About one’s path and identity
Is the actual meaning of true life-quality
And the paramount shaper of reality.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE EARTH SCHOOL

There are some people
Who just don’t deserve good people,
Yet good people will be meet them
Because they’re a part of the system;
There’s nothing you can do about that.

As long as you walk this earth,
You deserve every experience you get;
You signed up for it before birth
And now you have to run the gauntlet -
There’s nothing you can do about that.

Welcome to the school of maturing,
Of pain, temptation, of debt incurring -
But you CAN conquer after long enduring.
Now I don’t know if you find this reassuring,
But there’s nothing you can do about that.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

MY PATH

I‘m just on my lonely path
But very few people know
And even those that know
Still don’t really know
Because how can you know
What I don’t truly show?
The nature of my sorrow
The depth of my flow
For I still have many miles to go
In my search for tomorrow
And only I truly know
The loneliness of my path.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

FIGHT TO LIVE

Fight to live
Force yourself to forgive
Weigh what you give
Let it come from the heart
But let it not be too heavy
Not everyone can bear the weight
Of your true inner state
There’s a lot on your plate
But others have their own plate too
Be light sometimes
Be easy sometimes
Let people smile sometimes
When they think of you
As they too fight to live.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YOU CANNOT

You cannot be a man - or a woman -
And go through the world
Without the world going through you

You cannot deal with people
Without people dealing with you

You cannot tackle your task
Without your task tackling you

You cannot handle issues
Without issues handling you

You cannot finish your mission
Without your mission finishing you.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river