When sheep undress
They become wolves
When wolves undress
They become sheep
Unclothing less
Reveals more
Of why we laugh
When we weep.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Of Virtues
SIMPLE SIM ON LOVE
Simple Simon
made a rhyme on
something on his mind:
If God is love,
all else above,
then how can love be blind?
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
FIELDS OF LIGHT
In fields of light above this realm
Where sight and sound are one
I chanced upon a little elm
A woman sat upon
From far afar I sharp’d my eyes
To peer good at this sight
And soon came I to see thread-ties
‘Tween her and the High Light
She sat so still, she did not stir
Or so it seemed to me
‘Til I was no more far, but near
And then began to see
Than in her hand she held a flute
The longest yet I’ve seen
Which stretched gently until its root
Her small lips was between
And she it was who through her sounds
Was forming all these fields
Of beauteous light where joy abounds
And my heart rapture yields
These fields of light I long have passed
Yet never will forget
That those blessed hills, meads, groves were massed
But through that simple set
Of flute and woman weaving music
Healing broken hearts
And forming fields of light of scenic
Beauty for these parts.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
WITHOUT LOVE
Whatever you do
Do it with love
Or you will die without love…
Whatever you do
Do it with love
Or you will be buried without love
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
THE SIZE THAT MATTERS
Some people, like stars, only
Appear small because they
Are so very very far away
From us and our Understanding.
The closer we get to them
In essence and in comprehension
The smaller we become
With humility.
The more we understand them
The more we grow
In humility.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
LOVE IS ALL
Love is all
Something else
Is something less
Love all
Love less
Is loveless
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
(Image by Hans)
LOVE FOREVER
To know the heart of things,
Like a boy, like a youth, would…
To perceive the Voice that brings
The Clarity that it could
And indeed always does,
That we may understand our flaws…
When did I forget how to read
The truth behind people’s facades?
When did my heart cease to bleed
On behalf of my neighbours’ bad fads?
And why do I even write at all?
What do I gain? Do I rise or fall?
I walk alone upon this earth
And expect nothing other than this…
I awake each day like it’s new birth
And through the day I learn it is…
And why I continue is the fact
That that posterity will love this Act
With which I hereby seal this pact.
Just love, and look back never –
We who love shall live forever.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
GRACE
If you are poor
Gracefully
Wear your poverty
If you are rich
Gracefully
Bear your prosperity
If you have nothing
But this small thing
– Grace –
You will never lose face.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
MIRAGES
So they faced me
If I was half a man, I would face them back
Good thing I was full man, not half
Or I would have fallen for the illusion
That you have to fight to be a man
So they turned away
If I had a little sense, I would beg for mercy
Good thing I had much sense, not a little
Or I would have fallen for the delusion
That you have to join the crowd to have a face
So they attacked the strangers
If I loved my kind, I would join in the attack
Good thing I loved humankind, not just my kind
Or I would have fallen for the mirage
That you have to hate strangers to love your own
The world is full of cynics
Who on earth still believes anything good?
Raise your hand in the air
And wave it like you just don’t care
If you really don’t care
There are many ways to fall asleep
Many ways to hide away
Many ways to deceive yourself into believing
Your mask is better than your face
Is better than yourself.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
SUBTLE TIES
He was my best friend
Yet when we parted
None gave news to the other
Of the path he charted
Where one went high
The other went low
And where one learned to lead
The other learned to follow.
She was a wild flower
But deep in her soul
She was a gentle morning
That made people whole
She fell in love with one
Then met the other
And fell for him too
Like he was her lover
Torn between a leader
And a follower
She learned with surprise that the higher
Is indistinguishable from the lower
The hunter is the hunted
The writer is the reader
The leader and the follower
Are both follower and leader.
He was my best friend
And though we walked separate ways
Destiny brought us together
Back to the same place.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 