INTERACTIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS  

Envy and Jealousy and Possessiveness. Distrust and Disloyalty and the breaking of Promises. Not knowing one’s boundaries. Untoward and unjustified claims upon the other. Intrusiveness. Space and vicinity. Balance. Knowing the line between giving and taking, between being there and crossing boundaries, between being close enough and being too close for comfort. Knowing which demands and expectations are legitimate and must be met, and which ones are too intrusive. Respect. Mutual respect. Consideration for the other’s nature. Making the effort to know the other better. Carefulness. Intimacy. Understanding the different layers and forms of intimacy, and knowing which ones to share with which people, which ones apply within which forms of friendship, which ones are exclusive and which ones are inclusive. You can connect with many people deeply, and each connection is different. But there is a certain connection that can only be shared with one, or none, at every point in time. Truthfulness and honesty and trust and bravery. Trust is a form of bravery. Reciprocity in our relationships with one another.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains

HEALING

Thinking of tomorrow
Of when you‘ll be gone
Your name is Sorrow
And your work is almost done.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

HEARTPEACE

She wanted to go with peace in her heart
And I decided to give her that peace -
Let there be peace in you when you part;
If there’s a heaven, it is of it an inner piece
And it is the only way to make a new start.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

HOW FEELINGS CHANGE

Strange
How feelings change
The heart is a shooting range

The things that die
They don’t tell you why
They just stop to cry.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TIDES OF MARCH

Arriving soon
Hardening moon
No dawn, no morning
It is always Noon.

A quiet sun, ready
Emotional but steady
It is Noon already.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

LEARNING

Take your time to know.
Find your space to grow.
Time and space are seeds you sow
To reap maturity tomorrow.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YOU DON’T BELONG

You can only close your eyes for so long,
Your inner voice knows when something is wrong;
However hard you try to feel among,
You won’t be accepted where you don’t belong.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE HURTING SPACE

Allow yourself the space to hurt,
To mourn, to miss what is gone;
If your tears want to wet your shirt,
Let them fall, and flow, and run.

Give yourself enough time to heal,
The heart needs a while to transform;
To intuit, to perceive, to deeply feel
Is for the heart simply the norm.

Walk away slowly from your past,
No need to rush, you’re not coming back.
Take in everything, first to the last,
And then continue down that one-way track.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TIME TO PART

It’s time to part
With peace of heart,
Reconciliation the chart -
Lord, how great Thou art.

Finally letting go
Of pain and sorrow,
Of wanting and woe -
You reap what you sow.
You forgive, forget and grow.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

ADJUSTING

You overcome the pain
By becoming one with it.
You lighten the rain
By learning to dance in it.
You conquer rejection
By accepting it.
You unburden affection
By confessing it.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river