The joy of the brand new day The happiness that wants to play The laughter in your heart Even when outside the sky is grey Don’t let anything take your joy away Fight for your right to be happy everyday Fight for the light in your heart Happiness is the Paradise of Today Night and day, November or May, Laughter is the currency in which you pay For the gift of life in your heart. My morning thoughts on a happy Sunday. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Hearts
HURT
Love hurts. Life hurts. People hurt. People hurt people. And hurt people hurt people. And when it hurts too much People begin to avoid the touch The inner touch Sometimes they permit the outer touch But only perfunctorily as such Because even it hurts too much. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
TRUST, BROKEN
Trust, broken.
Thoughts, woken.
Hurt, spoken.
Touch, token.
Unpreparable.
It comes from the one you don’t expect.
Unrepairable.
You’ll never again be able to not suspect.
Healing is an intellectual token
Once the trust has been broken.
Only the spirit can find a new rhyme
In its own way, in its own time.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
VANISHING
Don’t come back after I’ve got used to your absence
Your absence has become your strongest presence
If you return too late you’ll only find yourself gone
Replaced by memory, you’ll be the invisible one.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
LOVE HURTS
If love hasn’t driven you mad Then you’ve never felt love before If love hasn’t made you unbearably sad Then love has not yet pierced your core If love hasn’t tested the line you had Between the good and the bad and fundamentally changed you forevermore, Then yours isn’t love, just a lore. And the most astounding part Is the dull ache somewhere in your heart and the cold ashes that remain when you walk down memory lane. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE LOVE MIRROR
Mirror mirror on the wall - Who‘s the fairest of them all? Mirror mirror, as they fall - Who’s the dearest of them all? Mirror mirror, hear them call - Who’s the nearest of them all? Mirror mirror, it is dull - Who’s the clearest of them all? The eyes are the window of the soul And the mirror of the world within - Mirror my soul, picture me whole, Let me come in and let love begin. Mirror mirror on the wall, Who’s the surest of them all? Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
HUNGRY FOR HUMAN LOVE
The world is a buffet All you can meet Humanity at the venue All you can greet Kindness on the menu All you can treat Love and pain the entree All you can eat. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
SOLITUDE AND YOU
A part of me still wants to show you Every little flower that crosses my lane Share with you every story and review That get’s thrown up by my algorithm Tell you all the things that cross my mind Numberless times all through the day Reveal my plans and ask you if you also find Them as interesting as they seem to me Ask you how you are, where you are, Who you’re with, what you’re doing there Where it is, if it’s near or if it’s far How long you’ve been and will be there… But then another part of me reminds me That you are gone and gone for good And I lock my conversations back inside me Because I’m getting used to this solitude. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
INNER WARMTH
There is fire in your Heart Even though you keep quiet Or laugh loud to play your part When awkwardness is at its height It is a warm quiet resolute fire Burning subterraneously A nocturnal town-crier Subtle intensity Everybody in your vicinity Is warmed by you Without understanding completely Why they like being with you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I HURT BADLY
There are pains I could bear When I was younger Which I cannot bear Any longer When I was younger, I was tougher My heart could recover Now I’m older, I’m harder No longer a bender, now a breaker No longer a healer, now a hurter So I don’t engage Unnecessarily, I don’t bother I just turn a new page. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 