Never gonna teach nobody
Never gonna preach the Word
To no damn soul
I’m damned myself
Tired of pretending
To know the way to heaven
Maybe everybody should just
Go to hell – then we’ll all grasp
The way to heaven.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
Of Virtues
LESSONS FROM MY FATHER
1. Don’t be afraid to be on the losing side
2. Believe in yourself
3. Identify a cause you would be proud to die for – and then live for it
4. Exercise
5. Avoid the things that harm your body
6. Be on good terms with your family members
7. Know where you come from, and maintain a close relationship with it
8. Think strategically
9. Create opportunities for those less priviledged than yourself
10. Reflect on your path and change it, if need be
11. Think about Africa, for the danger is not yet over
12. Get an education
13. Work extra hard
14. Cultivate a relationship with GOD. He is.
15. Don’t be blindly tribalistic or racial. Look for the truth, and give your loyalty to It alone
16. Serve causes, not people
17. Be fearless
18. Be disciplined, and persevere
19. Be honest and straightforward, and follow the path of integrity
20. Have faith, and believe in miracles – there’ll be help along the way
21. Earn your own money, pay your own bills
22. If you have children, give them your all
23. If you get married, do your best to keep it happy
24. Strive for Excellence
25. Be at home within your own self.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
In loving Memory of my father, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije 1939-2015.
LIKE A CLOUD WATCHES A RAIN DROP FALL
Like a cloud watches a rain drop fall
An archer a misguided arrow reject recall
A mountain an avalanche gather and roll
A doctor a young departing soul
An old woman the memory of early innocent flirt
A tailor a beloved yarn vanish into a shirt
So I remember tonight all those I ever hurt –
Growing up is life’s only comfort.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
NO LAWS CAN SAVE A NATION
The simplicity of reality
Drag me down to earth
Some mistakes can be corrected
Only through death and rebirth
But it takes even more strength
To live with your unrectified error
And if you can no longer change your path
Then go it with virtue and valour
The outer Change is not as important
As the inner Transformation
If individuals stay inwardly corrupt
No laws can save a Nation
And when you lose your fear
Of mockery and condescension
You’ll see that most People are simply Followers
For fear of ostracization.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
REAL PAINS ARE REAL JOYS
Caught in the middle of two worlds
Am I their divider or their uniter
Or lost in the middle?
Torn in the tangle of many loves
Am I their comfort or their hurt
Or they mine?
Rooted at the crossroads of four callings
Am I interpreting it wrong or right
Or just a tool?
Laws confuse me. Love comforts me.
Lord, don’t make me a preacher
Just make me genuine
No matter the pain
I don’t want to be fake
I just don’t want to be fake.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
EVEN A NOBODY IS STILL SOMEBODY
Though you seem foolish
And out of touch
Keep on being who you are,
Neither life nor nature’s laws
Was created by human beings.
Though the politicians seem to have all power
Though the freedom-fighters seem to be the only brave ones
Though the intellectuals seem to know it all
Though the popular stars seem to be the only dream-achievers
Yet always remember…
Every single Thought you think
Every deep Intuition you perceive
Every Word you quietly say
And every Little Action in your life
Has an effect Somewhere, Somehow…
For nothing goes for nothing
Nothing gets lost in life, in nature, in Creation
And the fact is that while we’re all so busy
Running around the place
None of us really knows what it’s really all about.
So: Ye Unknown Ones, be brave
And when your Inner Sensing leads you away
From everything the world proclaims “Great” and “In”
Then forsake the world’s ways and quietly, quietly
Find Peace and Joy within your Hearts.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
TRAVEL LIGHT
I went on a journey, a holiday,
And brought home with me
In my bag instead of clothes new things
I never knew existed before
Where I saw a mountain shrouded in tears
I packed into my bag the power of mystery
And at the end when I saw smiles
With the primordial power of blessings
Waving goodbye on the faces of friends’ hearts
I stored the power of openness
In the folds of my rucksack
Strengthening my back.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
THE HAPPY SADNESS OF MUSICIANS
Every Tuesday
They gather here
A flock of wild geese
And play for nobody
Their smiles
Each time their smiles
Break my heart
Open Stage
Not a dime
What’s their crime?
Listen in
To the sound of happiness
It is full of sadness
Life is music
Friends are memory
Death is immortality.
————–
che chidi chukwumerije
————–
LIVE, PAIN, LOVE
It’s just life
No pause
Inescapable laws
No brakes
No breaks
No breaking out – you’re done in
Few gives, few takes
The dark is near
It is in there
It’s always there
It’s just life
You pay the price – that’s your role
There is a myth, a legend
A hurt-filled, painful, word
They call it love
There are no guarantees
But they say
It will set you free – nothing more
It won’t bring you wealth
It won’t bring you power
It’s just life
Keep it warm
Keep it safe
Keep it alive – love – it’ll keep you alive.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
GREATNESS AND SMALLNESS
How great
Is the greatest man
If he cannot even carry a bucket of water
To his thirsty friend?
If he cannot even put a broom in his hand
And sweep the dustied driveway
With humility of heart?
How great
Is the greatest woman
If she cannot even say hello
To a person she deems to be a class lower?
If she cannot ignore the supposed mockery
Of soceity for the sake of a moment
Of truthfulness to herself?
How great is greatness
If it has no humility?
Even smallness
Is greater
Than such greatness.
– che chidi chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 