Whatever you take from people,
Try not to take away their dignity –
It is what makes us human. Simple.
Human dignity is a kind gift from Divinity.
Preserve it as much as you can
In every child, in every man, in every woman,
It confirms to us that we are human.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
There are too many things In my heart For which I don’t have words - Some are chains, some are wings, Some please, some hurt, Some are shields, some are swords. All are a part of the challenge in me, Hurting me, holding me, healing me. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
People who try to bring you down Will see you rise - Their thorns will turn into your crown, That’s your prize. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
We have to become beautiful Inside and outside And stop roaming the earth full Of shame and pride Looking for a Paradise That is ours and ours alone to make - Until we arise At home, our success abroad is fake. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
What you’ve missed
You’ve missed
It’s not coming back
What you’ve lost
You’ve lost
You’re not getting it back
What you’ve broken
You’ve broken
You cannot make perfect again
Even with the best glue
And what you’ve touched
You’ve touched
You cannot erase your mark
And it will never forget you.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Beautiful women
Come from the land of within
And lead you back up
Into the land of within
And when they beautify
The world within you
You feel you’re In Paradise
In your world
And when they beautify you
In your inner world
You feel beautiful
And you become beautiful
In every other world.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
I want to grow
I want to know
What’s outside the window
Of my sorrow
I want to go
Where pain cannot follow
Too deep to flow
Too far for tomorrow
The incredible today Show
Thousandfold ecstasy and woe
Changes me into what I need to know
Ahead of tomorrow.
Many more miles to go
The first step is to sow
Hope, sow Joy, sow kindness despite sorrow
Growth is a stream, gently row.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
I never knew there was so much love
In the world until I was down;
I never knew there was so much hate
In the world until I wore a crown.
You just have to accept humanity the way it is;
People will surprise you with their love and their hate;
People will surprise you with betrayal and with loyalty;
A thousand changes everyday will be your fate.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
As I travel the world outwardly, I also travel through myriads of inner worlds inwardly.
Within short periods, I interact with people of different mentalities, characters, backgrounds, histories, personalities and inner worlds; people whose inner lives are often completely different from mine but sometimes also extraordinarily similar to mine.
And I’ve learned one thing. It is not the outer world that is big and vast; it is the inner world that is vaster and more diverse than the universe. But it is also that same inner world that is the smallest, most singular and most undifferentiated space in all of creation.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
One person’s content
Is another person’s form,
One person’s excellent
Is another person’s norm,
One person’s present
Is another person’s past,
The message you first sent
Got to the Person you love last.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner River
