People never come back They move on to the new you Or to their new perception of you With or without you And you move on to the new them Or to your new perception of them With or without them But the old will never come back. Tomorrow will come. Those who try to cling on to the past Lose their way and orientation very fast Because Time never goes back. Those who meet again do so in the future As different people with a different Nature Because only going forward takes you back Home. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Seasons And Times
ONE LOVE
You can only love one person, you can never love two people or even more. True love. In order to love another person, you have to first change and become a different person. But the person who loved that first person can never ever love another person. Once your heart has bonded, it can never ever unbond again, until it dies and becomes born again as a new heart.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
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
BRIGHTNESS UP AHEAD
There’s brightness up ahead Curiousity and hope instead Of shuddering tears we shed Instead of feet that walking bled And never a word said. But now there’s brightness up Ahead and an overflowing cup And a loaf of laughter for my sup. If you look deeply you’ll see it on my face That my heart was caught by His grace. 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
THE DAY THE LAUGHTER CAME AGAIN
The day the laughter came again I stood in shock and stared at it in awe Like a stranger from a distant terrain For I had forgotten to a tragic flaw How laughter sounds and makes you feel. It felt so good it made me want to cry; The power of laughter and joy is real - A heart that laughs purely will never die. The day the laughter came again I was at the lowest ebb of my life, My soul wracked every day by pain, Torn by questions and unresolved strife, I woke up that morning and prayed to God, then set out to bravely meet the day And as I, work-focused, did onward plod, Laughter came to me again along my way. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
SUDDEN JOLTS
I cry spontaneous tears
They come unbidden
Rolling back adult years
All of a sudden
The wounds, the tears
A shuddering bolt
And a painful spasm
Of old fears and new cares
That repeatedly scars
Anew my heart with a volt
Of shivering behind cold
Iron intangible bars
A body-wracking jolt
And then the next moment
I quietly laugh again
Grateful and content
To reap my fruits in pain
I don’t know when
The tears will come again
At 2 o’clock or at 10
In a meeting, at a game, or on a plane
Or taking a walk in the friend zone
Or sitting at home all alone.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
DON’T GET LOST IN THE DARK
Don’t get lost in the dark Wait for the mist to clear The emotions never speak the truth They are always informed and biased by feelings You just have to wait for the mist to clear It takes a shorter or longer time to pass Depending on your nature And depending on the circumstances Just don’t get lost in the dark. Azuka Chukwumerije
ORIENTATION
Don’t get used to the exhilaration, It is a bubble that will soon burst To be followed by the long deprivation And the unbroken thirst. Get used to the soberness instead, It will stay for longer than you hope And will be your daily bread With which you have to daily cope. I try not to yearn for the happiness, But the heart is treacherous; Unbidden it feels a new tenderness - This happens to all of us. And there are some pains you prepare for - They will always come, come back to you, For once upon a time it was you who tore It out of your heart and gave it a job to do. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
PATTERNS
One thing about life Patterns repeat themselves Next thing about life Patterns repeat themselves Another thing about life Patterns repeat themselves Until you break them. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
