ONCE YOU TASTE TRUE LOVE

Once you taste true love
Lust becomes a mechanical chore
Pleasure is no longer enough
You want something more.

You learn to recognise the grain
And separate it from the chaff -
You want to feel that joy again
You want your heart to laugh.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TREASURE IT

When someone loves you
Really loves you
Treasure it above due
It is worth much more than you know

Lack of love is poverty too
Lack of joy and companionship too -
Treasure love above due
It is worth much more than you know.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE POWER IN THE COURAGE TO BE TRUTHFUL

Truth is so powerful. There is almost nothing
That you cannot forgive a truthful person.
It’s a strange phenomenon. What is hurting
You is healing you, is teaching you a lesson.
Even while suffering, you can’t stop trusting.

Something about them awakens respect in us.
Truthful people fascinate the coward in us,
Inspire the warrior in us, touch the human in us.
In the depth of their sin, yet they carry the cross.
Even at their worst, they’re still the best of us.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

EVERYONE CAN BE HAPPY

There is somebody that loves you genuinely; 
May you find that person -
And may you also love that person genuinely.
But if you don’t find or love that person,
Still may you find happiness in life.
Not everyone finds a husband or a wife,
But everyone can be happy genuinely.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES

Why don’t people take opportunities
When they come?
Most especially those opportunities
That come from
The heart and appeal to the sixth sense
And, if grasped, lead us back to the essence
Of the purpose of being human and fulfilled.
A happiness, a love, heartfelt and God-willed.
The best opportunities
Don’t make us wealthy.
The best opportunities
Make us happy.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

BELIEVE YOUR HEART

Believe your heart,
It does not lie;
Let it be your chart
and your Why -

Why you believe or disbelieve a story;
Why in all things you give God the glory;
Why you wake up and get up
And dress up and show up
Morning after morning after morning
Like the sun always returning every morning.
Why you remember the sun and look up
And drink renewal from the Grail Cup.

Follow your heart,
no matter where it may roam -
It is like a magic chart
that knows the way home.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

A LITTLE HAPPY EVERYDAY

Sometimes you love someone, but the person loves someone else. Or the person simply prefers a lifestyle different from the one which a life with you would have to offer them. So they choose or go after someone else who, or another path that, can offer them that lifestyle.

Being that the aim, the very aim, of life itself is Happiness, this experience of rejection cuts to the very heart of the essence of existence. The hurt can kill the soul. It makes people reappraise themselves, question their worth and even find fault in their own fundamental character. Yet, while self-examination is healthy, so also are self-love, self-understanding and self-acceptance equally necessary.

When trapped in a spiral of self-abnegation in which one no longer recognises oneself, It then becomes imperative to awaken, within one’s consciousness, a new narrative of life and of self in order to find the path to a new source of joy, as a new person. To outgrow the self-image that traps one in a cycle of pain, perhaps even to shed certain traits, and to learn to see oneself, one’s path and one’s Why with fresh new eyes. To find a new understanding of the purpose of life.

This is where the concept of never giving up comes into play. Every morning when you wake up, strive for joy. Be prepared to let go of those thoughts and those beliefs that weigh you down debilitatingly. Be ready and able every day to try a new path, a new thought, until you find the exit – and then you can take flight again.

Life is a jigsaw puzzle. Many parts fit, but many parts don’t fit also. And you have to move the pieces about in your heart and in your life continuously, often, and courageously in order to slowly put your answers together.

And, as you stride on along this way, try… try to be a little happy every day. In the end, that’s all you have. That’s all we have to share with one another. That is our humanity.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

THE SMILES OF STRANGERS

The smiles of strangers along the way;
Eyes that touch with a friendly look briefly -
Just a few of these silent greetings a day
Change the feel of the city, lighten it greatly.
And they are there, just enough of humanity;
Partake in it, for life is rushing by so quickly.
Joy-givers are preservers of human dignity.
Every day is a gift. Use it wisely. Be happy.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

SHARE YOUR LIGHT

Sometimes it‘s just a word that’s missing
At the right time and everything goes wrong
Hurting sounds like hissing
Caring sounds like dissing
Whispering sounds like kissing
And confirms what you knew all along.

But someone will cross your path today
Who needs a smile
Someone crying for help will be in your way
For a little while
Just a word, a look, a smile, a friendly touch
Will help them another mile.

Share your night and your fright
Share your might and your right
Share your sight and your insight
And share your plight and your flight
Share your fight and your bite
Share your height - and share your light.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

IN YOUR HEART

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