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
Of Hearts
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
JEWELS AND THORNS
Somewhere it‘s day Somewhere it’s night Some hearts are sad Some with joy bright But even as the world Continues to spin The happy turn sour The sad grow a grin Sometimes you’re glad Sometimes you’re down Jewels and thorns Adorn the human crown What makes us human? The ability to weep And then laugh again For our heart is deep. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE THINGS YOU SAID
You cannot grow back a flower that’s dead You cannot stick back leaves already shed My mind has heard, my heart has bled You cannot take back the things you said. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOU MUST BE PATIENT
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
LOVE IS FOR THE DARING
It’s not the bite in your pride when the rejection is nearing that you are really fearing It is not the hope that died while heartbreak was jeering that built the guard you’re wearing It is the invasion of your Inside, the vulnerability in sharing, the agony, the pain, of caring Deep within is where you hide, finding strength, slowly preparing, because love is for the daring. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 