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
personal development
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
YOU CANNOT
You cannot be a man - or a woman - And go through the world Without the world going through you You cannot deal with people Without people dealing with you You cannot tackle your task Without your task tackling you You cannot handle issues Without issues handling you You cannot finish your mission Without your mission finishing you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I DREAM EVERY TIME I FALL ASLEEP
I dream every time I fall asleep And it’s always one adventure or the other; Conversations with beloveds I keep, My best friend, my father, my brother, And strangers too with whom I laugh and weep And fight and love and comfort one another; The dangers are real, the emotions are deep, Every fear, every tear, every worry and bother; At times I weightless fly, or I burdened creep, Through encounters that liberate or smother, But I’m always conscious even in the Deep, As awake as a baby born out of its mother. For I have vows to keep and sowed seeds to reap - And before it gets lighter it will get darker - And miles to go and never really sleep. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOUR LADDER OF POEMS
A poem at a time Gradually I climb Out of my well of wishes Out of my well of clichés Out of my well of unbeing Into my wellbeing. Don’t let the machine write your mind Think for yourself or you’ll grow blind What you seek is what you’ll find - Moving on, don’t leave your true self behind. AI might be the future’s tool - But stay human and don’t be its fool. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 