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
Of Contemplation And Search
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
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
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
PEOPLE SAY ALL SORTS
When people insist I love you more Put them to the test They won’t love you anymore When people claim I don’t love you anymore Treat them the same They’ll love you once more Don’t base everything On just what people say People will say anything Just to get through another day Everybody wants happiness But not everyone really knows How to get that happiness - We’re all searching and it shows. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE
Those that live in foreign lands But never really left their home Whose hearts never cup the sands Upon which their reluctant feet roam And the prints made where each boot stands Will be washed away by the evening foam Of a suspicious tide that never understands The ripened fruits of an alien-like biome - - Ye shall go back home with empty hands To a strange land that is no longer home. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
TIME MATTERS
If there were no time There would be no pleasure For there would be no experiencing, No piling up of inner treasure, No maturing, no developing, No struggle against which to measure Growth, delicious, ever unfolding, For eternity gained is the time spent. If there were no time, If Everything happened in one moment, There would be no rhyme. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
DRAW YOUR SECOND BREATH
When I first came to Germany, I died, slowly and gradually. And - this is the worst part - I died alone, inside my heart. Some might say it is a death Akin to the planted seed That dissolves inside the earth En route to being freed; Freed from the past and the old - The path to growth into the new. But death is empty, dark, cold. And lonely. I never knew. There is a path that leads back to life; Beware - it is more painful than death And it too with loneliness is rife From which will emerge your second breath. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
DON’T WAIT FOR PERFECTION
Don’t wait for perfection Before you set off Imperfection is what you need To make you tough! The world is wild and windy The way is very rough For the one who seeks fulfilment This is enough. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
PERFECTION IS FOR THE COWARDLY
Perfection is for the cowardly Perfection is for the vain Perfection is for the insecure Afraid of the rugged terrain Perfection is for the talentless Unable to handle the unknown Perfection is for the clueless For the lazy follower, the drone Give me imperfection at dawn The origin of the day and the way Give me imperfection at dusk The source of tomorrow’s dream. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 