REVERSER

Recognitions await the explorer
The tail wags the dog
Sometimes when they play
The ears wade through the fog
When eyes can’t see the way
Nearer is not always clearer
The fire comes from the log
There’s also sadness in May
Our life is our only authentic blog
What we do says more than what we say
Even a mirror needs a mirror
A princess prefers a frog
The night is the dreamers’ day
Quiet people are also intensely agog
With excitement they don‘t display
To think otherwise would be an error.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TIME MATTERS

If there were no time
There would be no pleasure
For there would be no experiencing,
No piling up of inner treasure,
No maturing, no developing,
No struggle against which to measure
Growth, delicious, ever unfolding,
For eternity gained is the time spent.
If there were no time,
If Everything happened in one moment,
There would be no rhyme.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

I CANNOT REMEMBER

I cannot remember all the good I did
I cannot remember all the evil I did
People remind me

As you go through the world today
Be mindful of the things you say
And do to those who cross your way

People will remind you one day.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

BEFORE YOU

You always think you’re the first
When you are young,
How startling it is when you grow up
To realise you were wrong.

So many people before you
Have these same heights traversed -
Some recorded, many unrecorded,
Their stories long dispersed.

Tread the earth with humility,
O modern day human;
Stonehenge and Egypt’s pyramids
Transcend our acumen.

And when you are still young,
Be thankful as you add new value,
For you’re building on the foundation
Of all that came before you.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

CHANGE CHANGES CHANGE

There is something about change
Once it starts, it is irreversible
The inexorable march is strange
Like a Divine verdict incontestable
You see it happening yet you cannot stop it
When you try to stop it you only develop it
Even faster and make yourself expendable.

There is something about change
It is is surreal. Unreal. It is strange.

Change changes the parameters of change
And never changes in the same way.
Change changes change
But never changes it in the same way.
And never stops changing.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

NATIVE TO YOU

God’s World is not foreign
It is indigenous
After you’ve finished touring
You return to us

God’s Law is not complex
It is very simple
Needs no super intelligence
To do the needful

God’s Love is not exotic
It is native
Homeliness is romantic
Non-invasive

You are not an alien
In God’s eyes
Be at peace with yourself
And you will rise.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE OTHER CLAIRVOYANCE

Those who prepare
See the future
Preparation is clairvoyance

Imagination is sight
That’s why we call it vision
Damn right
Avoidance of annoyance

How far into the future do you see?
The next weekend? The next holiday?
The next dopamine high? Pleasure alley.
The next relationship? The next play?
The next argument? The next promotion?
The next opportunity? The time’s ever rife.
The next idea? Expansion of vision.
Old age? The next life?
Eternity?
How far into the future do you see?

What are you preparing for?

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

GRATITUDE

Gratitude gives joy
Brings joy
Is joy

Find your moment of gratitude today
Try a change of attitude, and pray
Climb unto a higher altitude.

Gratitude is a thing of joy.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

A FEELING OF WARMTH

A bright new day
And yet there’s no sun
Because the light
Is a feeling of warmth
Within my heart.

To let go of pain
Is a human feat
You will love again
We part to meet
And meet to part.

There’s a rainbow
Universal, not a slogan
Or a flag. A Hello
Of Hope for everyone
Eternity’s chart.

Heaven’s memory song
How great Thou art.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE OLD IN THE NEW

Every new thing you meet
Is an old thing to someone else
What to you is a new beat
Others have rocked from ever since

Your new love is someone’s old flame
Burning low but burning still
Because people stay the same
Captive to their former thrill

Battles you assumed were done
Suddenly resurface demanding review
Friends you thought were long gone
Suddenly come again to protect you

Nothing you meet is new
It is old to someone and to itself
It might even be old to you
But you simply don’t realise it yet.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river