Pay attention to the signals That people give you; Take them seriously - The signals won’t deceive you. No one says everything; They leave it to you To figure it out if you’re smart And paying attention too. And above and beneath it all Your own inner voice Will analyse the signals and more And make its own choice. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Conflict
NICE PEOPLE LIE TOO
Nice people lie too And when they do They defend it with determination For fear of losing their reputation. Once you start with a lie You have no choice But to continue to deny Using your false voice And you become hard And you become cold And you put up your guard And you grow old It was worth it, I guess, To have wrongly said Yes - It would be sad to have killed your soul For nothing, and miss your true goal. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
MANY STORIES
You have enemies you don’t know, They get to your friends behind your back. Those friends whose friendship was hollow Succumb to them and join in their attack. You have friends you don’t know, They‘re there for you when you need them most. They fight your fight, share your sorrow, Rejoice with you, sometimes invisibly like a ghost. You are not and never alone, You are a part of many stories and memories; Your life is an enrichment of someone else’s own And is enriched by others’ and their testimonies. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
BE HONEST WITH PEOPLE UPFRONT
Be honest with people upfront. Because they are giving you their all, hoping you will accept it and believing you are the one. If you know you are not available for them or they are not what you seek, don’t let them plant their garden in your backyard and enjoy their fruits for a while before brutally uprooting them when you’ve had enough, or when they now want to enter the house, or when the one or thing you really want shows up. You cause a deep pain in the universe and open a wound in their hearts that will bleed for lifetimes thereafter. Be honest with people upfront. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Don’t say things you don’t mean or that aren’t REALLY real. If it’s not what you really want or if you’re not really sure, say it truthfully, keep your distance or break it off at once. You will gain a friend, and respect, for life, down the line.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
ASSUMPTION IS THE FILTER OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Realising you’ve been deceived Is very hard to believe Because it looked so real How it made you feel But that is the first rule of deception It must never look like deception When you look at a wolf clothed as a sheep You don’t see a wolf clothed as a sheep You see a sheep. Everything around you Could be a cover created to confound you. Our wishes, insecurities, vanities, memories, Propensities - they all block our senses. Assumption is the filter of consciousness. Worse, presumption. Everything is a dress, And who or what is wearing each dress You will learn by experience as you progress. But as you become more knowledgeable You ironically also become more gullible. You are stunned, as you learn and grow, To realise there’s still so much you don’t know. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
REAFFIRMING DIGNITY
When a woman leaves a man who loves her to follow a man of money, it is the most crushing pain a man can feel. But if he does not let it kill him, it will only liberate him in the end. Every once in a while you have a chance to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “I am somebody”. Something will push you there. Something that seems aimed at robbing you of your dignity, your pride, your self-respect. Something that will try to tie your actual value as a human being to some material status or achievement or level of acceptance by someone or some people. Something that will make you feel small. And nothing does this deeper than love that chooses money over you. Then you have to stand in front of the mirror and look into the soul of that man staring back at you and recognise his true value. Remind yourself of the principles at the core of your foundations as a Human Being. Remind yourself of what connects you to God and to true life. And teach yourself again that your value is more than your monetary wealth or material standing. And don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise – not any man and not any woman. Because, In Your Dignity, You Are Somebody.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
DON’T GET LOST IN THE DARK
Don’t get lost in the dark Wait for the mist to clear The emotions never speak the truth They are always informed and biased by feelings You just have to wait for the mist to clear It takes a shorter or longer time to pass Depending on your nature And depending on the circumstances Just don’t get lost in the dark. Azuka Chukwumerije
LOVE AND PAIN
Why is there so much hurt in this world? Why is it hard for people to join hearts without causing each other pain? Why is pain an unavoidable component of love and of togetherness? Is the human spirit really incapable of honest, pure, harmonious, mature love?
The people that love you are the people you will hurt, and they are the people that will hurt you the deepest and the most. And yet you cannot stop loving and you cannot stop loving them. Nor they you.
Who has ever found happiness on earth without it being laced with anguish and spiked with periodic doses of lacerating pain? If you haven’t found this, then you’ve never felt love yet. Because you can never find the love without the pain.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
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
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
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 