By the time you’re ready for me I’ll be ready for me too I’ll no longer need you to Complete me and hold steady for me. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Maturing
DOING IS HARDER
Most of us are weak Strong only in theory - To reach the mountain-peak Is easy in a paper story - Never underestimate One week It’s still Seven Days of weary Struggle through prospects bleak To attain the crown of glory. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
GO YOUR WAY
Don‘t take everything
That comes your way
For the way has everything
The way will make you lose your way
If you believe everything
And take everything
That the way brings your way
Learn to look away
From the way
When the way
Is not going your way
Know the way
And know your way
And know the difference.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
PAIN YIELDS GAIN
Bearing pain Is like rearing Gain - You tend it patiently ‘Til it yields fruits abundantly And then you plant again. It’s a circle of pain The farmer breaks the ground to plant the seed The seed breaks its shell to yield the feed Our teeth crush the feed to tend our need Our need disciplines itself not to turn into greed So that we still retain enough feed To sow again. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
UNMISSING A PERSON
You know, when you do not Want to stop missing a person, but… One morning you rise and go through the day and only In the evening do you realise That today you forgot to be lonely And in that moment when you remember That person, you wait for the familiar pain… But as sure as August breaks into September The ache is gone, you’ll never feel it again. You know, when you do Not Want to stop missing a person… Because missing that person Is the only thing you’ve still got - But… One day even that leaves you too. Yes, even you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
AI CANNOT SATISFY
AI Cannot satisfy The longing for reality The thirst for humanity It can only replicate duplicate Reiterate concentrate elucidate Our past in all its profusion The sum of all our confusion Neatly packaged in a way That appeals to our Today But it will not give us anything new. The future is still the spirit’s purview. If we want the new then we must Do what we have in the past Always done to grow: Let go of the past. Raising the intuition above the intellect We much reach deep within our depths And pull the new out from ourselves Because there is a magic that flows from Above Into our Intuition, our secret treasure trove. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
TIME MATTERS
If there were no time There would be no pleasure For there would be no experiencing, No piling up of inner treasure, No maturing, no developing, No struggle against which to measure Growth, delicious, ever unfolding, For eternity gained is the time spent. If there were no time, If Everything happened in one moment, There would be no rhyme. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
DON’T BE DISTRACTED BY INSULTS
Be ready to forgive insults Even before they come Knowing they will come From children and adults Who are a part of your way For this too is a part of the way You must travel to get results. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
BEFORE YOU
You always think you’re the first When you are young, How startling it is when you grow up To realise you were wrong. So many people before you Have these same heights traversed - Some recorded, many unrecorded, Their stories long dispersed. Tread the earth with humility, O modern day human; Stonehenge and Egypt’s pyramids Transcend our acumen. And when you are still young, Be thankful as you add new value, For you’re building on the foundation Of all that came before you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
BEYOND PAIN
Pain they say is your friend But it is also your enemy. Be careful when it starts to bend, It can break you completely. Take small breaks from your pain Every once in a little while. Laugh at yourself or with a friend - If you can’t laugh, smile. Tell pain enough is enough When you’ve learned your lesson. After washing, turn the shower off And you can now start dressing Up, stepping out and showing up, Changing your narrative. Not pain but joy is the overflowing cup That we drink to eternally live. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 