What would the sky give
To uncage the clouds and set the rain free?
Everything she has; and yet
What’s the use?
You can set old secrets free
New ones will pile up inside again
For only what is hidden can set us free.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
This Poem was inspired by the Article: CONFESSIONS.
A blind man walked into the busy tram
His cane tapped audibly on the wall
Of many a closed mind –
There was an unsteady way he shuffled about
Stumbled, and then clutched the railing
Without letting go of his staff, still swaying
In his other hand three polyethylene bags
Full of his grocery – I tried but
Could not read the look on his calm face.
I hate it when the conversations die,
He must be thinking, I’m thinking
As the whole tram stared at him
But he could not stare back.
Two stops later, he gingerly tapped his way
Out of the tram, his face calm, illegible.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
My hands are clean when
I rub them in the dirt
Washed in the tears of the homeless
Warmed by the laughter of the dignity
Of the downtrodden
Did they lose it all
Just to gain this clarity in their eyes?
Don’t lie to a person
Who has seen through all of society’s lies
They can unmask every government
They can unmask every family
They can unmask every act of friendliness
They know the difference between kindness
And charity. They can unmask you
And they can unmask me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Beware of those
Who like the wind does
To the petals of the rose
Like the mind blows
The poetry out of the prose
– Those who sense
The source of your strength
And work only to dent
And take away your self-confidence.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Might is not right –
Right is might.
This right is not the opppsite of left
Is not the right of fraternity bereft
This right is conscience
Is humanity in its essence
And the path to its Height.
– This right Is MIGHT.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
I heard a whisper
Which made more sense than it could have
And less sense than
It did
I felt a touch
Which was more intimate than it could have been
And less intimate than
It was
I met a stranger
Who looked more familiar than he should have
And less familiar than
He did
I perceived an odour
Which smelled nicer than it must have
And fouler than
It could
And then I saw a tempter
Who seemed exactly like I knew
A tempter ought not to be
Yet I knew it was temptation
Because it never answered my smile
Not the smile you see on my face
But the smile
That lives, always silent, in my heart
And the tempter
Does not answer this smile
Because how can you answer
What you don’t hear?
The silent smile who waits so gentle
Resides in everybody’s heart,
And anything that answers not my smile
Is not mine.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
If you decide, and start
To do nothing
Your gods will help you to
To nothing.
If you decide, and start
To do something
Your gods will help you to
Do something.
Onye kwe
Chi ya e kwe!*
Nature will strengthen the fruits
Of the seeds you sow and grow.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
————
* Igbo proverb: “If you say yes, your god will also say yes.”
They are nice masters
In this regard she is lucky, I guess
They make her feel at home
When she cooks and cleans
Sings to the baby, feeds the dogs
And the cats and is allowed to watch TV
But when she gets home in the evening
Without electricity, it’s a marvel to her
In the midst of her poverty, to see the joy
In her family’s eyes and to be at home again.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
Everyday she printed dust on feet
Earlier than sunrise
She was a surprise
To every sleeping wanderer she will meet
On her way to the well, wishing well,
An empty bucket on her head
One more in each hand that bled
On her way to hell
The well, the well is dry
It is dry, barren, unresponsive
The less you get, the more you give
The desert will never cry
Every evening she dusts her way home
Not a drop of water
To herself she will mutter
Soliloquy on when the rain will come.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
Life is a burden made light
By the weight of sacrifice
Your life is useless unless used to the full
For something meaningful and useful.
Self is heavy, selflessness is light
The battle is painless for them that fight
The volunteer’s prize is dignity
Freedom is not for free.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
from THE BEAUTIFUL ONES HAVE BEEN BORN
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 