You cannot be a man - or a woman - And go through the world Without the world going through you You cannot deal with people Without people dealing with you You cannot tackle your task Without your task tackling you You cannot handle issues Without issues handling you You cannot finish your mission Without your mission finishing you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Travel And Sojourn
IS TIME A CIRCLE?
Is time a circle, not a line? Does it have a center? A Center to which we return When we lose our Center? A moment in our childhood, A time from another life, Something that never changes, A piece of eternal life. A recurring dejavu - I have been here before And so have you Like Waves on the sea shore. The seasons recur for a reason The past repeats itself intermittently We come from the Future And it is waiting for us to return impatiently. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I DREAM EVERY TIME I FALL ASLEEP
I dream every time I fall asleep And it’s always one adventure or the other; Conversations with beloveds I keep, My best friend, my father, my brother, And strangers too with whom I laugh and weep And fight and love and comfort one another; The dangers are real, the emotions are deep, Every fear, every tear, every worry and bother; At times I weightless fly, or I burdened creep, Through encounters that liberate or smother, But I’m always conscious even in the Deep, As awake as a baby born out of its mother. For I have vows to keep and sowed seeds to reap - And before it gets lighter it will get darker - And miles to go and never really sleep. 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
AGAIN AND AGAIN
The Heart does not forget overnight Sometimes it needs more than one lifetime To forget the way back to the Light And the echo of the last Grail Bell’s chime Again and again it reads the Message Again and again it feels the pull of the Call But the gains and pains of the Modern Age Make it time and again slowly forget it All. A sad day it is time and time again When a soul rises again from its deathbed, And all it’s relatives’ tears and pain Will be nothing compared to its own regret. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE JOURNEY OF YOUR “I”
The miracle of life transcends the earth. The adventures of the “I” Survive many an earthly death and rebirth And a “Beyond” not in the Sky But right here beside you And much too often beneath you. Your Journey is shaping the Real you. This is really the purpose of it all - Not the Earthly but the Spiritual, the true inner personality, you the actual person, you, you, you! Eternity requires integrity, and self-conquest is our path thereto in the struggle with the Material. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
MOVE!
Move! You have to move! Always you have to move move move! Change change change! Move And move again and again Keep moving keep changing your lane Joy and pain sunshine and rain playing and praying And always adjusting and recalibrating And moving and moving and moving And constantly growing and improving. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
A QUIET LIFE
A quiet life You come and you go And barely anyone noticed You or your halo. This distant planet The Earth she’s called You visited and then were Quietly recalled. Some people don’t talk much You don’t even know they’re there But their hearts are deep And full of care. But their hearts are deep And full of care Treasure the quiet ones While they’re still here. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
GREETINGS ALONG THE WAY
Every flight is a flight of fantasy Every journey is a journey of discovery Every departure is a departure from routine Every arrival is an arrival somewhere in between Every stranger is of a stranger kind Every meeting is a meeting of minds Every parting is a parting of the Red Sea Every greeting is… Wait! Greetings. The greetings Are the closest we’ll come to most humans. Put into them the earnestness of meetings - They are often our sole communions. With eyes, with words, with gestures, With a handshake or an embrace - Greetings in all their textures Help us to feel our human race. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
GO YOUR WAY
Don‘t take everything
That comes your way
For the way has everything
The way will make you lose your way
If you believe everything
And take everything
That the way brings your way
Learn to look away
From the way
When the way
Is not going your way
Know the way
And know your way
And know the difference.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 