DENIED

If you died
Right now
Ask yourself
What have you lied
To yourself
About.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE TRAIN

The train is full of hopes
And full of broken hearts
Full of starts and stops
A moving story of many parts.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

OF YOU

My Heart is full
Of you and the pull
Of you but of all
Of you not just a part
Of you from the start
Of you to the heart
Of you I hear the call
Of you in my heart.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YOUR OWN

Don’t go after what you don’t desire,
And don’t go after what does not desire you.

Connect with your own and you will go higher -
Chasing the wrong one will drain and tire you.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE TRAIN WILL DEPART

The Train will depart
It will move
If you’re on it, you’ll leave the station behind
If you’re on the platform, it will leave you behind
But when the time comes the train will depart
And two people who’ve
Until that moment been together will part.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

THE WAY THE HEART LOVES

A quiet day
You were in my heart
And in my every thought
All day today

Just like yesterday
And the day before too
I’m still thinking of you
Quietly every day

This is the way
The heart loves genuinely
Noiselessly, unceasingly
Day by day.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

LOVE LIKE THE SUN

Like the sun rises every morning
So love blossoms again in the heart
After the night of agony and mourning
The heart will ache to make a new start

It might be an unfinished story
Rising from the depth to try again
Or a new love emerging in all its glory
Making the heart forget all its past pain

The edges blur, the points blunt
The longing subsides, the tears dry
New edges sharpen up a new front
New wings unfold straining to fly

For the heart wants to love badly
Because love is the life of the soul
Love gladly or love sadly or love madly
Love alone makes the spirit whole.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

ERRATIC APRIL

Nature blowing hot and cold
Playing hide and seek with the Spring
Human hearts timid and bold
Minds and bodies young and old
Looking for a firm weather to hold,
Not a cold snap, or a hot flash, or a fling.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

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

A NEW BEGINNING

A beautiful day,
My heart opens in joy and gratitude
And begins to pray:
Thank You, Lord, for healing, for fortitude,
For blessing my way
With true friends and a heart of quietude,
For sending Your Ray
Of warmth into the depth of my solitude.

Although I lost my woman
I gained new friends and a reopened heart.
With pain grows acumen;
Life is a journey, Your Word is the Chart.
It’s hard to be a true man
But every new day is a good day to start.
Daily You make me human,
moulding through experiences my innermost part.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river