Show people who you are So that those who want to go will go And those who want to stay will stay And those who want to come will come And those who want to keep away will keep away. And when they show you who they are You will be hurt by some who go And be pleasantly surprised by some who stay, You will be amazed by some who come And you will not even notice those who keep away. Show people who you are And they will show you who they are. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Nature and Natural Laws
WISH
The sun-blessed countryside
Green and blue far and wide
Wish you were by my side
Love is life’s most beautiful ride
When it died, I cried.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
BEFORE I SLEEP
The tropical warmth With teeth as strong as roots Beating on lion skin drums Evening voiced on bamboo flutes Fleeting memory That happened too long ago To be remembered properly Before I sleep more miles to go. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
RAIN MUST DROP
No raindrop stops in the middle of the sky Once it has left the cloud, it must reach the ground And there it shatters to pieces to quietly lie In the arms of the new old home it has found. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THAT KIND OF LOVE
How can someone Love someone so much? Is it possible? Once upon A time there was such. And betrayal couldn’t make the love go away, It only opened a wound that would forever stay And questions yearning to find answers some day. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
WHAT’S HIDDEN IN THE SOIL
How something so good Can just suddenly spoil You would be so surprised What’s hidden in the soil. How success and fulfilment Can defy time and toil You would be so mortified What’s hidden in the soil. How the hand that loved Can suddenly recoil You would be so horrified What’s hidden in the soil. The human heart is a garden, A kitchen, a fertile soil And strange things happen When things come to the boil. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
EVERY THERE
Everywhere you go, the Will of God is there, Whether you take cognisance of it or not, It doesn’t care, it is always there, now, everywhere. We used to know this once. We simply forgot. It is every here and every there. And ever near. No thought escapes its jurisdiction No word and no action Not even the finest intuitive perception Will runs its course without Divine retribution Every seed will come to fruition. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I DREAM EVERY TIME I FALL ASLEEP
I dream every time I fall asleep And it’s always one adventure or the other; Conversations with beloveds I keep, My best friend, my father, my brother, And strangers too with whom I laugh and weep And fight and love and comfort one another; The dangers are real, the emotions are deep, Every fear, every tear, every worry and bother; At times I weightless fly, or I burdened creep, Through encounters that liberate or smother, But I’m always conscious even in the Deep, As awake as a baby born out of its mother. For I have vows to keep and sowed seeds to reap - And before it gets lighter it will get darker - And miles to go and never really sleep. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
AT THE BEGINNING
Pay attention to the beginning In the beginning Because the beginning Is the beginning of the ending. Every seed planted in the beginning Will become a fruit or a flower or weed And, before the end, manifest as a deed. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
FOREST WALK
A stroll through the curious trees Respectfully quiet to put you at ease What you hear is the noonday breeze Tell us your thoughts, human, if you please. But you hear neither the watching trees Nor the quietly questioning noonday breeze All you know - correct me, if you please - Is that in your heart you simply feel at ease. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 