DISILLUSIONMENT

That moment comes and it suddenly clicks,
That someone you thought was close to you
Really does not know you. The mind played tricks -
Or was it the heart? - on both of you.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

SERVICE

In the morning when the sun arises
A light shall also dawn within you,
A clarity that intrinsically recognises
What on Earth you are supposed to do -

To awaken to service to the good,
For kindness, honesty, courage and humility
Are life’s deeper nourishment and food
And the template of humanity.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YOU KNOW

Go at your own pace
Let no one hurry you
Your life has deeper value
Than just to be in a race.

Frame your own narrative
Own your own story
Share your own memory
Everybody’s is selective.

Only you know
Deep within your soul
Your heart’s true goal
You alone know.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

FEEL IT FULLY

Feel it fully
Intensely not dully
Pain beyond measure
Is one of the earth’s treasures
It grows your heart
Makes it strong, soft and alert
All in one. Your true heart
Your spirit, your innermost part
That lives on and on and on
And on and on and on…

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

LOVERS AND OR FRIENDS

My friends are more important to me than my lovers. Lovers betray you, at some level, but friends stay loyal. True friends. The best lovers are also friends. The best friends don’t have to be lovers, don’t need to be lovers, to mean the world to you. Friendship beats everything else. There are some people you can be lovers with, but not friends. The moment the love affair ends, the friendship collapses, because it was inwardly empty. It was only sex, carnal comfort and perhaps some degree of emotional connection, but without reciprocal Depth. No sex is worth the best friendship. Nothing beats a person you share your truth with and the truth is safe with them, and they share their truth with you and it is safe with you. Share is the operational word. Safe is the magic word. It is safeness and trust. Respect, honesty and genuineness.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

HEALED BROKEN

It’s not as easy as you think
Some bones heal in their broken position
Yes, they don’t hurt anymore
But they will never again make the same old motion
And you will never again feel the former emotion.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

DENIED

If you died
Right now
Ask yourself
What have you lied
To yourself
About.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YOUR OWN

Don’t go after what you don’t desire,
And don’t go after what does not desire you.

Connect with your own and you will go higher -
Chasing the wrong one will drain and tire you.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

A NEW BEGINNING

A beautiful day,
My heart opens in joy and gratitude
And begins to pray:
Thank You, Lord, for healing, for fortitude,
For blessing my way
With true friends and a heart of quietude,
For sending Your Ray
Of warmth into the depth of my solitude.

Although I lost my woman
I gained new friends and a reopened heart.
With pain grows acumen;
Life is a journey, Your Word is the Chart.
It’s hard to be a true man
But every new day is a good day to start.
Daily You make me human,
moulding through experiences my innermost part.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

BECOMING CIRCUMSPECT

A year passed by so quickly, like a whirlwind. The most important lesson I have learned: Value people who tell you the truth, for they are rare. Be sparing with your trust. And know that, unfortunately or fortunately, there is always something more to every story you hear. The exceptions to this rule are rare. So, become circumspect, even as you love harder. Because the harder you love, the deeper you go into the heart of truth and deception. The human heart is on earth to grow, and it grows only by intense and authentic experiencing of itself and of other hearts. So, open your heart to everything, but know this: “Everything” includes both the light and the dark, both the dependable and the treacherous, coming both from strangers as well as, even more so, from the people you trust.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains