Don‘t mourn me when I die Wave me goodbye I will be going home If I miss my way home Then I will come Back again to retry. So don’t mourn me when I die I did not come to stay I came here to find my way Back Home. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Self
NATIVE TO YOU
God’s World is not foreign It is indigenous After you’ve finished touring You return to us God’s Law is not complex It is very simple Needs no super intelligence To do the needful God’s Love is not exotic It is native Homeliness is romantic Non-invasive You are not an alien In God’s eyes Be at peace with yourself And you will rise. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
CHOOSE WISELY
Don‘t waste your time with time-wasters Who pull you in, retain and detain you: Enjoy your wine instead with wine-tasters, Those who want, understand and value you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
HOW ARE YOU?
How are you? “I’m fine” is how you feel, It is not how you are. So, How ARE you? For real. Are you kind? Are you truthful? Are you vain? Are you boastful? Are you brave? Are you useful? Are you despondent or hopeful? What kind of person are you? Are you dependable in times of danger, or greed? What character type are you? Are you a traitor in times of chance and need? Are you led solely by your intellect? Or do you listen to your intuition? HOW are you? Don’t make-pretend. Your nature is your true condition. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
IT TAKES A NEIGHBOURHOOD
I like them both The two sides of Black The one that is woke And the one that looks back I like both of them The two sides of Black The one full of flame And the one that’s laid back I like the Black that plays I like the Black that fights I like the Black that prays I like the Black that delights I like the Black that segregates I like the Black that integrates I like the Black that separates I like the Black that tolerates It’s all Black and it’s all good It takes a village and a neighbourhood. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
SELF-MADE
At the end I‘ll be happy with myself For healing myself by denying myself. This is the mystery of the Self That liberates itself by controlling itself And binds itself by indulging itself, Because whatever becomes of yourself You did it to yourself. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
AVERSION
It’s always amusing to me When in the midst of a White Sea I see one Black face And when he or she sees me They seem to panic visibly And avert their face Avoiding eye contact completely And seem to be begging me Not to look at their face Immersed in their White company Proving hard to them their loyalty. To save their face After looking at them thoughtfully For a while, I walk past them gently With a calm face Because we don’t altercate publicly We will do that when next we see Face to face. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
NO HOLDING BACK
Do your poem
Like you do your woman
Like you do your man
Strong and Tender
Deep and Intense
Lovingly dismember
In the present tense
No holding back
Do your poem
Like you do them
That love you back.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
DRIFTED APART
The truth must not only be true But it must also appear to be true - Or it will look like a lie. You must not only be you But you must also act like you Or you will feel like a lie. A small shift A big rift Swift A brief lift A Greek gift Drift. Che Chidi Chukwumerije
EAGLE AT HEART
Sun-burnished
The sea slit
The morning lit up
Furnished my wit
The varnished mirror beneath me crawls
And over-yonder my sun it calls
Back tarnished memory bit by bit.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 