BRIGHTNESS UP AHEAD

There’s brightness up ahead
Curiousity and hope instead
Of shuddering tears we shed
Instead of feet that walking bled
And never a word said.
But now there’s brightness up
Ahead and an overflowing cup
And a loaf of laughter for my sup.
If you look deeply you’ll see it on my face
That my heart was caught by His grace. 

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

SMILING STILL

A heart of gold
And you will walk many miles
In the biting cold
Warmed by memories of smiles
May your heart be bold
And wise to wade through the wiles
And guiles and keep smiling still
As you trudge on up Hurting Hill.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

LIGHT TRAVEL

Travel light
For the road has all you need
But pack right -
The important things - and Godspeed.
Have a good flight.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TIME AND DEEDS

Only happiness can defeat sadness
Only honesty to oneself can defeat madness
Only goodness can defeat badness

Mirroring darkness is not our business
Rather for the Light we bear witness
And learn gradually to feel forgiveness

At a point words become meaningless
Whether we speak more or speak less
We’ll misunderstand each other nevertheless

Only time and deeds and steadfastness
Only consistency in human friendliness
Only self-control and gentlemanliness

Will grant our hearts again to each other access.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije 
Poems from the inner river

DON’T GET LOST IN THE DARK

Don’t get lost in the dark
Wait for the mist to clear
The emotions never speak the truth
They are always informed and biased by feelings
You just have to wait for the mist to clear
It takes a shorter or longer time to pass
Depending on your nature
And depending on the circumstances
Just don’t get lost in the dark.

Azuka Chukwumerije

SWAN SONG

Always remember one thing
If it’s true love it can’t move on overnight
It has to close its ring
Heal its wound, acquire new insight
And make the heart a swan-song sing.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

WITHOUT YOU

The people you expect to be there
Are farthest away when you need them near
The beautiful world is barren and bare
Without you. I need you here
To share with me my hope and fear
And marvel at the sunsets rare
And be my sunrise and midnight clear.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YEAR OF ACHING

What a difference a year can make
Depending on the path you take
The pillars you shake
The bonds you break
The demons or the angels you wake
And the thirsts you slake.

For whose or for what’s sake?
For something real or for something fake?
Some say the heart is a lake
Beneath its surface there swims a snake
Your happiness is at stake
And yet all you seem to do is ache and ache.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

PARTY TIME

Close the chapter and move on -
Life is a party. Put your dancing shoes on
And just groove on
Be the life of your own party.
Many invited guests will fail to show up
Don’t worry, the show will still go on
Many uninvited guests will crash the party
And light the show up
Your life is your party and it’s never done Dance on, move on, groove on.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE FINAL IMPRESSION

The last picture we have of a person determines what we continue to think about that person; and yet that person might have changed the very next day after the last time we saw them.

But for years and decades after that we continue to hold this picture and this opinion about the person.

And should our paths ever cross again we usually begin to relate again to that person and that opinion and that picture and that character that was the one we last experienced and remember.

So, we end up talking to a ghost and missing the real person right there in front of us.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains