WITHOUT A TRACE

There was once a person
I once knew her for a short while
I don’t know what happened to her
Or who she became or what lifestyle
I have no idea where she is now
I never discovered where she went to
Or who she mixed herself up with, if any
If she still exists, what she’s going through
But she made my heart childlike
Before she suddenly disappeared
Without a trace -

I pray to God, Who knows it all,
To always be with her wherever she is
And give her protection, progress and peace
And guide her to a beautiful place
Full of flowers, true love, honesty and bliss.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU

People who love you,
Hurt on account of you.
But, for some reason,
It is those who don’t care
That you’re always pleasing
And trying to keep near.

I wish you so well
If I were a wishing well
You could daily draw
And daily drink to your fill
And when you withdraw
The forest becomes still.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

WRONG AND RIGHT

How can something so strong
be so wrong? Go so wrong?
We don’t belong to our emotions,
they belong to us, but our devotions
are more accurate and honest,
what we long for the strongest.
Pain brings so much blessing
to every soul that learns its lesson
and undergoes transformation,
maturation and the realisation
that it wasn’t wrong after all,
it was a strong and jarring Call
to wake up before you fall.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

EVERY FACE

Every face is a story
Every grimace tells of lost glory
Every I’m sorry
Every Don’t worry
Reawakens a thousand year old history
And solves quietly a complicated mystery
From a long forgotten story.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

LOVE IS A PRISON

My only Crime was loving you
And loving you too much too
But If this is a crime
I’ve done my time
Release me
Ease me
Out
Tell me what it’s all about
An outer whisper, an inner shout
Free me from insecurity and doubt.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

SMILING STILL

A heart of gold
And you will walk many miles
In the biting cold
Warmed by memories of smiles
May your heart be bold
And wise to wade through the wiles
And guiles and keep smiling still
As you trudge on up Hurting Hill.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

ACHING

Deep inner feelings of love are possible
The love that causes the heart to ache is possible
The love you cannot forget is possible
The love that is stronger than you is possible
The love that changes you is possible 
You just have to meet the right person
To experience the incredible aching
With or without Heartbreaking.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

NICE PEOPLE LIE TOO

Nice people lie too
And when they do
They defend it with determination
For fear of losing their reputation.

Once you start with a lie
You have no choice
But to continue to deny
Using your false voice

And you become hard
And you become cold
And you put up your guard
And you grow old

It was worth it, I guess,
To have wrongly said Yes -
It would be sad to have killed your soul
For nothing, and miss your true goal.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

FORGET IT

How humility can guide you
To find yourself if you let it -
How anger can ride you 
To death if you won’t forget it -

Forget it, it’s done and gone,
Your pain is the healing kind -
When you lost her, you won
A deeper heart, a higher mind.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

HEARTS NEED TIME

The heart needs a long time
To understand that someone is gone.
Decades after the death bells chime,
The heart still waits for the loved one
To come back home.

The heart needs a long time
Because hearts are built for eternity.
Loving is more violent than crime,
You’ll be sentenced to immortality
As you wander and roam
Trying to come back home.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river