Love is my light If I cannot love I don’t feel right Love leads me Above Because it makes me light Like a dove. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Hope, Light, Faith
INDEPENDENT HEART
I never knew the heart was an independent thing Until I met you and my heart started to sing And to fly towards you with unfolded wings And to ignore me when I called it back But has continued to you to cling And to me aching and longing to bring And to say This is the Queen for you my King. And continues to ignore me when I call it back. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
PAIN AND GAIN
Without the pain My life would have been so empty, My spirit’s real gain Are the lessons and they are plenty. It is really possible To lose a person and become whole, It is really possible To lose the world and gain your soul. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE MOST VULNERABLE THING
The most vulnerable thing in this world is to open up to a person, to show the person your secrets and your true condition. To share with the person your dreams, your hopes, your fears, your phobia, your trauma, your beliefs, your feelings, your propensities, your weaknesses, your childlikeness, your unprotected true nature.
When you have thus exposed yourself to a person, vulnerable to the core, and the person – after taking a good look at you – rejects or betrays you, and directly or indirectly communicates to you that they find you to be unworthy of them, the damage that this experience can cause to a human soul is almost beyond the purview of what words can accurately describe. It is exceedingly humiliating, dehumanising, and robs you of your sense of self-worth.
It also gives reason to ask yourself, if you too have ever done the same to another human being, maybe even without realising it, and maybe you have even forgotten it. If you have, then it pays to reflect on how to reach those people once more and offer them correction, retribution, a cure, or just true heartfelt apology and remorse for having broken their soul.
Most of all, though, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the question of whether a human being’s sense of self-worth should at all be wholly or partly dependent on how they are seen or held or treated by another human being, probably one whom they love, or sometimes even a stranger. Or whether a human being’s sense of worth should be rooted only and solely in their own inner strength and inner dignity and Inner fidelity to their own core values. Or if it is a mixture of both extremes.
One thing is for sure, though, and that is that no matter how we see it, the reality is that even the strongest people are affected by how they are seen and treating by one person or the other, consciously or unconsciously, either a stranger or more commonly someone that they deeply love. No matter how we see it, we owe the duty to ourselves as human beings to be thoughtful, careful, honest – honest to ourselves and also honest to others – in order not to disappoint a valid expectation of reflected worthiness.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
REBIRTH OF HAPPINESS
I found Happiness in my heart. It came out of the Blues, I don’t know where from, just at that moment and in that phase when I was experiencing the deepest betrayal and the most excruciating pain. I embraced the pain and decided to let it carry out its mission within me. I only made one promise to myself, I would not let it kill me.
One morning, when I was at my lowest, I called out to Happiness and begged it to come to me, swore to myself that I would find it. I knew it heard me, I felt it in the message it sent to me, like a vibration that touched my heart and awakened Hope. But the pain stayed, it did not go away immediately. Instead, it intensified and seemed to make one last grand grab at my Soul and my inner life, to kill me inwardly at last and for good.
I struggled, stumbled, but kept on walking, full of pain. And then, just as suddenly as this sentence follows on the last one, out of the Blues, in the middle of work and mundane daily chores, just when I was not looking or paying attention… Happiness suddenly showed up in my heart, like a Hero, like Sunrise, like a gift from God, like a warrior of Light.
Happiness is a strange thing, it lifts you high on wings of lightness, fills your heart with buoyancy, and makes you… Happy.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
DIE HARD
All the things I thought would kill me, Didn’t kill me. But they sure did hurt… They hurt like hell for a long time - But they didn’t kill me. They made me wiser, stronger and sadder; But in the end I’m still me. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THROUGH HONESTY
Don’t be ashamed Pour it all out The heart is tamed and freed from doubt by the bravery of honesty. Let those that hurt you continue to mock you It still cannot stop you from healing through honesty and growing through adversity. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
MAY YOU
May you grow Like the flowers you love so much May you sow Seeds of fruits that nourish as such May you glow Under the purity of a true lover’s touch May you know Honesty to which you can safely clutch. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
WITHOUT A TRACE
There was once a person I once knew her for a short while I don’t know what happened to her Or who she became or what lifestyle I have no idea where she is now I never discovered where she went to Or who she mixed herself up with, if any If she still exists, what she’s going through But she made my heart childlike Before she suddenly disappeared Without a trace - I pray to God, Who knows it all, To always be with her wherever she is And give her protection, progress and peace And guide her to a beautiful place Full of flowers, true love, honesty and bliss. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE LOUD CROWD
The loud crowd Is soft to my heart Their warmth is gold When they smile they hold My heart with love untold In their family fold. Good people don’t need To be perfect to lead - Their goodness leads you home. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 