PATTERNS

One thing about life
Patterns repeat themselves
Next thing about life
Patterns repeat themselves
Another thing about life
Patterns repeat themselves

Until you break them.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE EARTH SCHOOL

There are some people
Who just don’t deserve good people,
Yet good people will be meet them
Because they’re a part of the system;
There’s nothing you can do about that.

As long as you walk this earth,
You deserve every experience you get;
You signed up for it before birth
And now you have to run the gauntlet -
There’s nothing you can do about that.

Welcome to the school of maturing,
Of pain, temptation, of debt incurring -
But you CAN conquer after long enduring.
Now I don’t know if you find this reassuring,
But there’s nothing you can do about that.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

SELF-CONTROL

There are some you don’t take,
Even when they make themselves available,
For heaven’s and your dignity‘s sake -
Pleasure today will tomorrow be regrettable.

The line you draw will be your lifeline,
A line as high and thick as it is invisible and fine.
The gap you maintain will maintain your pride;
If you cross it, shame will become the great divide.

Some things it’s better not to do,
Not because of what you’ll gain or not gain,
But because of what it will take from you;
It can’t be repaired by even the deepest pain.

Honour makes a nation
And integrity makes a state -
The day you learn to resist temptation
Is the day you become great.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

FIGHT TO LIVE

Fight to live
Force yourself to forgive
Weigh what you give
Let it come from the heart
But let it not be too heavy
Not everyone can bear the weight
Of your true inner state
There’s a lot on your plate
But others have their own plate too
Be light sometimes
Be easy sometimes
Let people smile sometimes
When they think of you
As they too fight to live.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

IS TIME A CIRCLE?

Is time a circle, not a line?
Does it have a center?
A Center to which we return
When we lose our Center?
A moment in our childhood,
A time from another life,
Something that never changes,
A piece of eternal life.
A recurring dejavu -
I have been here before
And so have you
Like Waves on the sea shore.
The seasons recur for a reason
The past repeats itself intermittently
We come from the Future
And it is waiting for us to return impatiently.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE POWER IN THE COURAGE TO BE TRUTHFUL

Truth is so powerful. There is almost nothing
That you cannot forgive a truthful person.
It’s a strange phenomenon. What is hurting
You is healing you, is teaching you a lesson.
Even while suffering, you can’t stop trusting.

Something about them awakens respect in us.
Truthful people fascinate the coward in us,
Inspire the warrior in us, touch the human in us.
In the depth of their sin, yet they carry the cross.
Even at their worst, they’re still the best of us.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES

Why don’t people take opportunities
When they come?
Most especially those opportunities
That come from
The heart and appeal to the sixth sense
And, if grasped, lead us back to the essence
Of the purpose of being human and fulfilled.
A happiness, a love, heartfelt and God-willed.
The best opportunities
Don’t make us wealthy.
The best opportunities
Make us happy.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE SMILES OF STRANGERS

The smiles of strangers along the way;
Eyes that touch with a friendly look briefly -
Just a few of these silent greetings a day
Change the feel of the city, lighten it greatly.
And they are there, just enough of humanity;
Partake in it, for life is rushing by so quickly.
Joy-givers are preservers of human dignity.
Every day is a gift. Use it wisely. Be happy.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

IN YOUR HEART

The joy of the brand new day
The happiness that wants to play
The laughter in your heart
Even when outside the sky is grey

Don’t let anything take your joy away
Fight for your right to be happy everyday
Fight for the light in your heart
Happiness is the Paradise of Today

Night and day, November or May,
Laughter is the currency in which you pay
For the gift of life in your heart.
My morning thoughts on a happy Sunday.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

HAPPILY

Happy wife, happy life.
Happy Ex, happy Next.
If you don’t want stress,
Spread Happiness.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river