There are some people Who just don’t deserve good people, Yet good people will be meet them Because they’re a part of the system; There’s nothing you can do about that. As long as you walk this earth, You deserve every experience you get; You signed up for it before birth And now you have to run the gauntlet - There’s nothing you can do about that. Welcome to the school of maturing, Of pain, temptation, of debt incurring - But you CAN conquer after long enduring. Now I don’t know if you find this reassuring, But there’s nothing you can do about that. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Maturing
SELF-CONTROL
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
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
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
SHARE YOUR LIGHT
Sometimes it‘s just a word that’s missing At the right time and everything goes wrong Hurting sounds like hissing Caring sounds like dissing Whispering sounds like kissing And confirms what you knew all along. But someone will cross your path today Who needs a smile Someone crying for help will be in your way For a little while Just a word, a look, a smile, a friendly touch Will help them another mile. Share your night and your fright Share your might and your right Share your sight and your insight And share your plight and your flight Share your fight and your bite Share your height - and share your light. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
HURT
Love hurts. Life hurts. People hurt. People hurt people. And hurt people hurt people. And when it hurts too much People begin to avoid the touch The inner touch Sometimes they permit the outer touch But only perfunctorily as such Because even it hurts too much. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOUR LADDER OF POEMS
A poem at a time Gradually I climb Out of my well of wishes Out of my well of clichés Out of my well of unbeing Into my wellbeing. Don’t let the machine write your mind Think for yourself or you’ll grow blind What you seek is what you’ll find - Moving on, don’t leave your true self behind. AI might be the future’s tool - But stay human and don’t be its fool. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
For whom shall I write now? For whom shall I fight now? Who shall shine the light now That illuminates my heart? Lovers don’t turn into friends, They turn into strangers. Life the gardener tends Both safeties and dangers. But when November ends, December births mangers And shines new light to my heart. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
LITTLE STEPS
Healing takes place in small steps;
Pause and breathe a little, it helps.
Be thankful for the experience to grow,
There is still so much you don’t yet know.
Wise words don’t stop the pain, I know;
Hang in there, son, just go with the flow.
Things that don’t want to stay, let them go –
Accept that the absence of yes truly is no.
And look how far you’ve come,
See how different and clear you’ve become.
The thing that kills one part of you,
Awakens and strengthens the new you too.
But when you eventually get up and go,
Don’t look back, son, shut that window.
Little drops a mighty ocean do make;
Little steps you a long way shall take.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
VANISHING
Don’t come back after I’ve got used to your absence
Your absence has become your strongest presence
If you return too late you’ll only find yourself gone
Replaced by memory, you’ll be the invisible one.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 