If you died Right now Ask yourself What have you lied To yourself About. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Of Virtues
A RESTAURANT
They come in with empty stomachs And leave with full hearts - A restaurant is a homestead in public, A social comforter of sorts. A smile tastes as good as wine, And the sound of laughter Will be your lifeline And quench your hunger long after. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
PARALLEL UNIVERSES
When a person just doesn’t know how to tell you the truth, they simply stick to the lie. From start to finish. Even if they want to tell you the truth, they don’t know how to, they don’t know where to start because the truth runs on a completely different storyline and separate lifestyle, opposite reality and parallel universe. It will hurt you deeply and completely overturn your view of life and of them. Or so the person thinks. But if only they would try you, to see a new person emerge and a new powerful authentic relationship form.
Starting with a lie is always a slippery slope, a rollercoaster ride. It is nervousness and heart palpitations from start to finish. It can be exciting and exhilarating, until it becomes human and personal. Then it becomes a chore, a nightmare, a heavy load, and a puzzling sphinx, a difficult riddle to solve. Tell the truth and shatter the other person’s reality? Or maintain the lie and allow it to eat you inside and gnaw at the other person’s gut instincts, and prevent both of you from ever forming a true bond? And yet, only the truth liberates.
There will be a humanity one day of honest human spirits who live, share and relate in the light of truth always and in all things. Deeply and simply. Inside and out. Individually and as a society. The most fundamental truth we owe ourselves as human beings is the truth of how we really are as a person. This is the basis of all relationships and of society and of a possibility to one day have a reflection of Paradise on Earth. A home away from Home.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
WHAT HUMANS CAN DO
A.I. can only do
What has been done before
Only humans
Can do truly new things
Spirit, give me more –
New hearts beat on different strings.
Spirit, give me those things
That only human spirits can do.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
I WISH YOU WELL
Though you hurt me I wish you well I pray that true love Lift you where you fell I pray that God’s Light Illuminates your heart I pray that good things Line up your travel chart And may it be well with you In everything that you do. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
MARCH TOWARDS APRIL
So many things ending in my life this month, as March ends. And so many things starting. Looking forward to April. Is my heart big enough to contain and bear it all? Yes, my heart is always big enough. And when it isn’t, it simply grows some more, grows again.
Aries, as ever, you end the old and bring the new. For me, to me, in me.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
INTERACTIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS
Envy and Jealousy and Possessiveness. Distrust and Disloyalty and the breaking of Promises. Not knowing one’s boundaries. Untoward and unjustified claims upon the other. Intrusiveness. Space and vicinity. Balance. Knowing the line between giving and taking, between being there and crossing boundaries, between being close enough and being too close for comfort. Knowing which demands and expectations are legitimate and must be met, and which ones are too intrusive. Respect. Mutual respect. Consideration for the other’s nature. Making the effort to know the other better. Carefulness. Intimacy. Understanding the different layers and forms of intimacy, and knowing which ones to share with which people, which ones apply within which forms of friendship, which ones are exclusive and which ones are inclusive. You can connect with many people deeply, and each connection is different. But there is a certain connection that can only be shared with one, or none, at every point in time. Truthfulness and honesty and trust and bravery. Trust is a form of bravery. Reciprocity in our relationships with one another.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
TIDES OF MARCH
Arriving soon Hardening moon No dawn, no morning It is always Noon. A quiet sun, ready Emotional but steady It is Noon already. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
STOP ACCEPTING LIES
Stop accepting lies
Dressed up as niceness –
Humiliation lies
In falsehood, not kindness.
Empty conversations
Masking your blindness –
A Disappointed Soul
Will answer with silence.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
LEARNING
Take your time to know.
Find your space to grow.
Time and space are seeds you sow
To reap maturity tomorrow.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 