You will hurt somebody And somebody will hurt you You will heal somebody And somebody will heal you You will help somebody And somebody will help you You will hinder somebody And somebody will hinder you. For every vice And for every virtue There’s someone to take it And someone to give it to you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Pride
ACCEPTING THAT
Accepting that you are not the one
for the one you love and want the most
is the most hurtful pain to sleep upon
Night after night hugging a ghost.
Accepting rejection without rejecting acceptance
of and by yourself and those who love and value you
is a difficult and uphill task, a complicated dance,
but also a chance for you to liberate and revalue you.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
EMOTIONAL FREEDOM
God is teaching me to not be emotionally dependent on any human being on Earth; to have nobody of whom I think or feel that I cannot live without this person. It’s a painful process, but to everybody who has rejected or is rejecting me, I say Thank you. Whatever your intention was, God has made something greater out of it.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
NEVER STOP
Don’t be ashamed and don’t be afraid
To follow your heart and go for your love;
Rejection can shatter the plans best laid –
The important thing is that your heart did move
And you moved outwardly along with this inner motion,
For movement is the spirit’s most important need –
It will climb every mountain and cross every ocean
Until it has itself from all its shackles freed.
The soul will always love something or someone,
And this love will make it laugh and make it bleed
And make it outgrow itself and never be done,
Following the path Home wherever it may lead.
Some chapters end in joy, and some end in sorrow,
But neither of these can hold the spirit down forever –
An inner restlessness will grip it again tomorrow;
Until it gets back Home, it will never stop. Never.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
YOUR SELF-WORTH: AN ETERNAL AND PERPETUAL SUNRISE WITHIN YOU
Your self-worth does not depend on another person’s acceptance of you or love for you. It is your own personal fundamental imprint upon Creation, your contribution to the flowering of the universe, your service to God. It is the authenticity with which you do everything you do; it is the truthfulness you manifest in all your dealings; it is the joy you bear within you inspite of all the reversals and disappointments you may experience; it is your loyalty to goodness above all things; it is your claiming of your right to dare and to fail without being mocked; and it is your claiming of your right to succeed.
It is your humility when you boldly lead and your dignity when you faithfully follow; it is your free will; it is your ability to love yourself and to love others; it is your honesty to yourself when you have erred; it is self-correction and self-motivation; it is your sense of principles; it is the love you give back to those who love you; but it is also your freedom from the chains of those who love you; and yet it is also your duty of truthfulness and dignity to those with whom you share a bond of trust; it is your obligation to your promises and the way you stand up to them; it is the firmness with which you resist evil; it is the severity with which you tell yourself the truth after you have yielded to wrongness.
It is your sense of humanness, your consciousness of being someone; it is your fighting spirit, your refusal to die spiritually or emotionally; it is the eternal and perpetual Sunrise which you carry within you; it does not require another person to be sad in order for you to be happy; it does not require others to be a nobody in order for you to be a somebody; it is your sensing and seeking and going of your own path, without unjustly intruding on others’ paths and free will; it is all this and more. But it definitely does not depend on the love or acceptance you receive from anybody else. It stands by itself, an integral part of you. It is You.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
EVENING BLUES
Accept your loss Only God is the boss Many rivers to cross To get to the real Us What a quiet evening you are Your inner voice carries far Riding quietly in the back of the car My listening heart is ajar. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
REAFFIRMING DIGNITY
When a woman leaves a man who loves her to follow a man of money, it is the most crushing pain a man can feel. But if he does not let it kill him, it will only liberate him in the end. Every once in a while you have a chance to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “I am somebody”. Something will push you there. Something that seems aimed at robbing you of your dignity, your pride, your self-respect. Something that will try to tie your actual value as a human being to some material status or achievement or level of acceptance by someone or some people. Something that will make you feel small. And nothing does this deeper than love that chooses money over you. Then you have to stand in front of the mirror and look into the soul of that man staring back at you and recognise his true value. Remind yourself of the principles at the core of your foundations as a Human Being. Remind yourself of what connects you to God and to true life. And teach yourself again that your value is more than your monetary wealth or material standing. And don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise – not any man and not any woman. Because, In Your Dignity, You Are Somebody.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
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
TREASURE IT
When someone loves you Really loves you Treasure it above due It is worth much more than you know Lack of love is poverty too Lack of joy and companionship too - Treasure love above due It is worth much more than you know. 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 