Though you hurt me I wish you well I pray that true love Lift you where you fell I pray that God’s Light Illuminates your heart I pray that good things Line up your travel chart And may it be well with you In everything that you do. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of pain
BROKEN RHYME
When trust breaks The universe shakes The heart aches And aches and aches And aches… Because the poem has lost what it takes To ever rhyme again. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
MARCH TOWARDS APRIL
So many things ending in my life this month, as March ends. And so many things starting. Looking forward to April. Is my heart big enough to contain and bear it all? Yes, my heart is always big enough. And when it isn’t, it simply grows some more, grows again.
Aries, as ever, you end the old and bring the new. For me, to me, in me.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
AFTERMATH
It took me a while to acknowledge and accept the betrayal. And the permanent change. It is what it is. But now that I have, I have. Now, we can successfully pretend, together and apart, that it never happened; and that we were never that close. Now the bond is broken. The intimate bond of trust.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
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
THE DOGS OF WAR AGAIN
The fogs of war Clouding and blinding - The cogs of war Tripping up and grinding - The bogs of war Weighing down and binding - The blogs of war Lying, agitating, not minding - The dogs of war Stuck in the past, rewinding. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
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
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
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
STOP ACCEPTING LIES
Stop accepting lies
Dressed up as niceness –
Humiliation lies
In falsehood, not kindness.
Empty conversations
Masking your blindness –
A Disappointed Soul
Will answer with silence.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 