It‘s quiet inside Grown silent in a heart Of memories rich in restraint A talking drum a world apart It takes a village to raise a child It takes a community to heal an inner child And silence in a quiet place in your heart. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Self
DIFFERENTLY YOU
If you are different
No matter how diffident
You try to be
They will still see
That you are different.
So, do you
And be true
All the way through
Their mean or funny looks –
A dose of courage is all it takes.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
ME
I will try
to be me
And trying
to be me
Is a part
of being me.
And in trying
to be me
I have already
become me.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
HARD TO EXPLAIN
There are too many things In my heart For which I don’t have words - Some are chains, some are wings, Some please, some hurt, Some are shields, some are swords. All are a part of the challenge in me, Hurting me, holding me, healing me. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
PRIZE
People who try to bring you down Will see you rise - Their thorns will turn into your crown, That’s your prize. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
HOMEWORK
We have to become beautiful Inside and outside And stop roaming the earth full Of shame and pride Looking for a Paradise That is ours and ours alone to make - Until we arise At home, our success abroad is fake. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I WANT TO GROW
I want to grow
I want to know
What’s outside the window
Of my sorrow
I want to go
Where pain cannot follow
Too deep to flow
Too far for tomorrow
The incredible today Show
Thousandfold ecstasy and woe
Changes me into what I need to know
Ahead of tomorrow.
Many more miles to go
The first step is to sow
Hope, sow Joy, sow kindness despite sorrow
Growth is a stream, gently row.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
THE GOD OF THE WILLING
We cannot use God to hide away from the world. Rather we should use God to engage with, decipher and overcome the world. Above all, the world within us. God is not for cowards or weaklings. God is for the brave, the bold, the adventurous, the determined, the open, those who are ready to use the earthlife for that for which it was granted to them: to experience, and to grow through this experiencing.
The form or the content of the experiencing is different for each person. For some it is a quiet thing they need to experience, for others it is a loud thing; for some it is a popular thing they must dare, for others it is an unpopular or even a seemingly inconsequential thing; for some it is a controversial thing, for others it is a safe and boring and therefore annoying and unbearable thing; for some it is personal love, for others it is objective love.
Everybody has those things that will call their heart deeply – and running to God will still not free you from them. There is no escape because it is inside you. God is not there to hide you from yourself or from your challenges. God is there to help you to deal with them. That is why HE granted you this earth life, because HE knows you will need every second of whatever length of time you earned for yourself in this current incarnation.
So, get to work! Go for it. Set off with the business of living by experiencing. God will help you if you are brave and honest.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
TYPES
Sometimes you are just not someone’s type. They might be attracted to you for a while, curious about you, interested in you, be entertained by you. But in the end they will betray you or leave you, because deep within their heart you are actually not their type or what they’re looking for.
And there are two types of them. Those that will tell you honestly up front. And those who won’t.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
HOW MANY
How many people are you? I’m two. If you don’t see me through You won’t know who’s talking to you. Some people I see Are three Dealing with them you have to be Relating with all three Simultaneously. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
