Don‘t mourn me when I die Wave me goodbye I will be going home If I miss my way home Then I will come Back again to retry. So don’t mourn me when I die I did not come to stay I came here to find my way Back Home. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Poems
BEYOND PAIN
Pain they say is your friend But it is also your enemy. Be careful when it starts to bend, It can break you completely. Take small breaks from your pain Every once in a little while. Laugh at yourself or with a friend - If you can’t laugh, smile. Tell pain enough is enough When you’ve learned your lesson. After washing, turn the shower off And you can now start dressing Up, stepping out and showing up, Changing your narrative. Not pain but joy is the overflowing cup That we drink to eternally live. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
LAUGHTER IS NOT MIRTH
Laughter is not mirth
Fame is not worth
Friendliness is not friendship
Fronting is not leadership
Distance is often the closest vicinity
From which to clearly see
The true nature of a person’s humanity.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
CACOPHONY OF ABSENCE
There is a cacophony of crowd That is calming to the soul Happy humanity buoyantly loud Making its empty parts whole When lungs are full of hearts And hearts are crowded with mirth And mirth is the song that charts The path that longed for our birth But even in the loudest throng I hear your silence echoing A dull throbbing of something wrong The wind of strange bellowing And where the multitudes gather There I see your absence clearly In the throes of the happiest banter I quietly miss you dearly. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE LIVING DEAD
I see dead people They don’t know they’re dead Their physical body is still living And has not yet been shed They walk and they talk, They laugh, weep and they smile They occupy all walks of life And don’t always seem vile Their mind silences their heart Their intellect dulls their intuition It seems insignificant But it’s at the root of the human condition Listen to your inner voice Don’t leave everything to your head Or you’ll be walking with the living And not realise you’re dead. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
IF YOU LISTEN
You know? If you listen to a Person talk You will see the person’s mind walk A thousand miles with each word Mountains they climb, rivers they ford A world will open up like a magic book The more you see the less you look The flowers blossom into new thoughts Don’t think too hard, just connect the dots You know? Just flow. 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
I HURT BADLY
There are pains I could bear When I was younger Which I cannot bear Any longer When I was younger, I was tougher My heart could recover Now I’m older, I’m harder No longer a bender, now a breaker No longer a healer, now a hurter So I don’t engage Unnecessarily, I don’t bother I just turn a new page. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE MAGIC MIX
The world is so varied So many different types of people The mix makes the magic Each world as distinct as it’s equal The human spirit, what a strange species That God created and sent to Earth Further than the imagination can see Diversity and depth without dearth No one person, no one tribe No one nation, no one race Can bridge alone your great divide And still your thirst for a homely place Only all of us together can Not all at once, for we are separated But by going from human to human With an open heart from land to land Will the segregated inside you be integrated. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
JEWELS AND THORNS
Somewhere it‘s day Somewhere it’s night Some hearts are sad Some with joy bright But even as the world Continues to spin The happy turn sour The sad grow a grin Sometimes you’re glad Sometimes you’re down Jewels and thorns Adorn the human crown What makes us human? The ability to weep And then laugh again For our heart is deep. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 