Once upon a time
A magician turned
Himself into a magic wand
And turned his magic wand
Into himself.
There they go
The magician and his wand.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Of Self
THE MIRROR’S BOTTOM
The mirror sang from side to side
Somewhere over the rainbow an old guitar
Picked up a young musician,
Awakened in his heart the desire
To be a Bridge.
And he is still wandering
looking for himself –
When the masquerade dances
not earthly drums move its feet
but the worlds underneath.
When your heart moves
Close your ears to the kora you hear
Look for the mirror within
For the mirror swings
from side to side.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
CHILD, ARISE
I have to be
The father of the child in me
Protect him
Encourage him
Allow him to dare to be
The child that should once have been me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
REAL
I’m tired of writing poems,
I want to be one.
– Che.
GIFT
Give me you.
Before you begin to wonder
What you are, remember
That each star and each season
Is nature’s gift for a reason
And you, dear spirit, your blossoming heart
Is spirit’s gift to the gift of art
It is the art of being you.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
WINDOWS AGAIN
The same song, the same gong
The same sound
It is all bound up in the same one
Concept –
I conceptualise, I discover, I am, I am not
I conceptualise, I know, I know not, I grow
A bell opened up and let out a melody
Ten thousand Songs, memory.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
JUST ME
I am my own forerunner
My own ancestor
The reincarnation of myself
I am the roots of my own tree
The stem, the trunk, the branches and the leaves
The flower and the fruit
The source of my own seeds
I am the beginning of my self
And the continuation and the end
The original blame rests upon me
The final victory shall be my handiwork
I am the controller of my destiny
Nothing more, nothing less
Nothing else.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
(Image by kloxklox_com)
FREEDOM
More important is yourself
A traditional mind might wear
A cultural dress might tear
A social responsibility could grow cold
An educational dream might never unfold
Or maybe it will
Still
More important is yourself –
Be yourself.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
(Image by Couleur)
SECRET
He was a messenger from far away
This thought that I secretly caught
And wonderful tidings he brought my way
Of all the secret things I still ought
Nay, must, do, must do
To you, my dear, to you.
But this he whispered first of all
That I must meet another stranger first
And secretly yield to his inner call
He lives in me, my root intuition’s thirst
For my secret powers become free
Only after I first become me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
REMEMBER YOUR DREAM
You’ll never be a better man
Than the boy you once were
So, when you lose your way
The answer you seek is not far:
Remember the dream you once had
Between child- and adulthood
When the boy you once were
Had just awakened from his dream
And the man you now are
Had not yet forgotten that dream.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 