Poems

THE BALLAD OF A POET’S FATE

~ Che ~ 10 Comments

“Why doth thy finger tremble so,
O Poet, what hast thou done?
Why doth thy finger tremble so,
O Poet, what hast thou done?“
“I’ve journeyed through three human hearts
And written what I saw
I’ve voyaged into hidden parts
Unknown to me before!”

“But human hearts are fragile strung,
So why art thou so shocked?
Said human hearts are fragile strung
Why then dost thou look shocked?”
“The sun is distant, but the heat
It give scarce can be borne…
From farther yet do men’s hearts beat,
More scorching too, their scorn!”

“Wilt thou then walk away from Fate,
O Poet, wilt thou do so?
Wilt thou abandon now thy Fate,
O Poet, to flee thee woe?”
“Atlantis sunk, the Incas died,
The Pharaohs turned to sand,
But poetry outlives time and tide
And Poets will guide the land.”

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

HE BELIEVED IN ME

~ Che ~ 5 Comments

He believed in me
When I look back, I see
Beyond all the memories
Above all the drama
Beneath all the pain
Between all the fun and play
Behind the unbending love
In his smile
That light, that pride, that trust, that wonder
That quiet look that told me
He believed in me.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

HAPPINESS

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The touch was much more than touch
Happiness, when it speaks, doesn’t say much

A passing thought almost crosses your mind
It leaves a warming ache behind

To share is to increase your share
Especially when there is nothing there

Happiness is a quiet guest
Peace in a castle, bird in a nest.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

MAID

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They are nice masters
In this regard she is lucky, I guess
They make her feel at home

When she cooks and cleans
Sings to the baby, feeds the dogs
And the cats and is allowed to watch TV

But when she gets home in the evening
Without electricity, it’s a marvel to her
In the midst of her poverty, to see the joy
In her family’s eyes and to be at home again.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

BOTTOMLESS WELL

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Everyday she printed dust on feet
Earlier than sunrise
She was a surprise
To every sleeping wanderer she will meet

On her way to the well, wishing well,
An empty bucket on her head
One more in each hand that bled
On her way to hell

The well, the well is dry
It is dry, barren, unresponsive
The less you get, the more you give
The desert will never cry

Every evening she dusts her way home
Not a drop of water
To herself she will mutter
Soliloquy on when the rain will come.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

RIVER RIVER FLOWING HOME

~ Che ~ 2 Comments
image
Che and Kwame

I saw a departed soul
There
On the other side of the river
Yet there is no bridge
Across the river
So how did he get there?
How did he cross to the other
Side of the river

River, river, flowing home

Bathed in the mild glows of
The fields across
The river
Stood a soul
And he said, Brother
Goodbye…

River, river, flowing, going home.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

DROWSY

~ Che ~ 4 Comments

My eyelids are falling
Like felled trees in the forest
My words are milky like drunken clouds
My breathing is slow and heavy like
A market woman’s feet in the evening

I am sleepy, drowsy, swimming and
I am about to fall awake –
Do you think I’m dreaming right now?
I can’t tell the difference
Do I write poems in my dreams

And forget when I awake?
The dream is the poem, a poem is a dream
I must leave you behind in the dream now, my love
Where my words will live on while
I wake asleep in the morning, in the morning.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

NAIJA

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

They call you many things
Name-calling is a game of stones
Hydra-headed mad woman chattering away
Away noisily to the sea – come to me, let me be
My own jam-packed contradiction.

Let’s take a stroll from the desert to the sea shore.
Before you get there, you will have to heal
The sick and the infirm, educate
The ignorant, the uninformed, the misinformed, the rudderless, help
The needy, house
The homeless, don’t forget
The aged, the retired, give money to
The poor, awaken hope
In the despairing along the long way to Africa’s destination.

Dictators and cabals raise hell
Entertainers and fanatics raise the roof
And the corrupt raise the cost of life –
We’ve had enough of them all
Let’s raise our standard of living.

There can never be freedom, never
Be peace, nor security, in a system that nurtures
The endemic poverty of this
Many people.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

BLUE

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She told me the tongue
Is the instrument of the heart
Learn to use it well, for song
And touch, to part and to impart

I tell you this, she said
Because you make my tongue restless
Then I knew what she wanted
A drink of tenderness

Blue was that night
And underneath the mango tree
Me warm me hands in her fireside
She sang of honey

Yet, though she’s melting me, watching me
Still my admiration is voiceless, deadpan
Words of flattery would be
A waste of woman.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

P.O.V.ERTY

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Sand for breakfast
Tasted no better than shit
I don’t beg for alms anymore
I just snatch it

My mother’s tears
Son I did not bring you up to be a thief
Mom you didn’t raise me to suffer in poverty, did you?
I just want some relief.

Sometimes they look out of their cars
Our eyes meet
I wonder if they ever wonder
If I know the taste of meat.

If I were in their shoes
Would I mean nothing to me
If driving by I saw me chained by poverty
In a system that benefits only me.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.