There are some you don’t take, Even when they make themselves available, For heaven’s and your dignity‘s sake - Pleasure today will tomorrow be regrettable. The line you draw will be your lifeline, A line as high and thick as it is invisible and fine. The gap you maintain will maintain your pride; If you cross it, shame will become the great divide. Some things it’s better not to do, Not because of what you’ll gain or not gain, But because of what it will take from you; It can’t be repaired by even the deepest pain. Honour makes a nation And integrity makes a state - The day you learn to resist temptation Is the day you become great. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of human beings
FIGHT TO LIVE
Fight to live Force yourself to forgive Weigh what you give Let it come from the heart But let it not be too heavy Not everyone can bear the weight Of your true inner state There’s a lot on your plate But others have their own plate too Be light sometimes Be easy sometimes Let people smile sometimes When they think of you As they too fight to live. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOU CANNOT
You cannot be a man - or a woman - And go through the world Without the world going through you You cannot deal with people Without people dealing with you You cannot tackle your task Without your task tackling you You cannot handle issues Without issues handling you You cannot finish your mission Without your mission finishing you. 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
EVERY THERE
Everywhere you go, the Will of God is there, Whether you take cognisance of it or not, It doesn’t care, it is always there, now, everywhere. We used to know this once. We simply forgot. It is every here and every there. And ever near. No thought escapes its jurisdiction No word and no action Not even the finest intuitive perception Will runs its course without Divine retribution Every seed will come to fruition. 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
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
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 