THAT ONE

You can come as close to me as you want
You still cannot get in.
You can go as deep into me as you want
But still deep within
My heart there is a door
And if you’re not the one it’s meant for
You can’t get in.

You can go as far away from me as possible
You still remain inside me
I can push you as far away from me as possible
But still deep inside me
There is one tender space
And you alone live inside this place
That is the home in me.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

CACOPHONY OF ABSENCE

There is a cacophony of crowd
That is calming to the soul
Happy humanity buoyantly loud
Making its empty parts whole

When lungs are full of hearts
And hearts are crowded with mirth
And mirth is the song that charts
The path that longed for our birth

But even in the loudest throng
I hear your silence echoing
A dull throbbing of something wrong
The wind of strange bellowing

And where the multitudes gather
There I see your absence clearly
In the throes of the happiest banter
I quietly miss you dearly.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

A FEELING OF WARMTH

A bright new day
And yet there’s no sun
Because the light
Is a feeling of warmth
Within my heart.

To let go of pain
Is a human feat
You will love again
We part to meet
And meet to part.

There’s a rainbow
Universal, not a slogan
Or a flag. A Hello
Of Hope for everyone
Eternity’s chart.

Heaven’s memory song
How great Thou art.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

EVOLVING

Always absorb the pain
And move on but resolve
To one day love again -
That’s how hearts evolve.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE POND

Your voice is in my heart
Although we’re farther apart
Than a mind can see, can scan,
Hearts with ease infinity will span
Between Earthlives and Beyond
Across universes spirits bond
Like lily leaves on a little pond.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

FRIENDSHIP IS FOR THE PATIENT

Step with each other
Step without each other, but step
Step ahead of each other
Step behind each other, but step
Step beside each other, step around each other
Step over each other, step under each other
But never ever step on one another.
Feel our steps inside of each other.
Step inspite of each other, but step
Step to one another,
Step away from one another, but…
Step always for one another.
Feel ourselves stepping inside of us.
Friendship is for the patient.

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

SEX IS SECONDARY

Sex is secondary
Mission is primary
It is not who shares your bed
but who shares your path you should wed
Or you’ll suffer the aftermath.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije

Poems from the inner river

I LOVE A LOT

For the sake of love
I love a lot
For the sake of the love
which once I got
I love to love and love a lot
Without a plan, without a plot
Just for the sake of the love
which once upon a time I got
and never again forgot.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije

Poems from the inner river

GIVING

A broken heart
is a portal
to a misplaced chart
of an immortal

A soul bleeding
is a soulful river
It is quietly leading
you to the Giver.

To get you must give
give humility
The hardest way to live
Purity, simplicity.

The Giver’s Paradise
is only for the giving
even when he cries
he is still forgiving.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije

Poems from the inner river