Why we sorrow, what we know
No tomorrow, yet we sow
Because this night, because this night
Because this night
Will crack
Light, light, I see tomorrow
Through a crack so slight and mellow
There’s a tiny track
The pain, though great
Will end.
The rain, though late
The rain, though late
The rain, though late
Shall bend
Our way again, this I know
Though we sorrow, yet we know
We’ll smile again.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Like water, going…
Like air, there, everywhere…
Gentle strength
Will slowly overcome
And overtake
You
Just when you think that
You have conquered…
Like love, forever…
Like trust, silently growing…
Gentle strength
Will finally become a part
Of you
Your greatest asset
Just when you think that
You have been conquered…
Though they hit you
And hit you again and again
Yet they lose always
Because love is the strongest force of all.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
I have to be
The father of the child in me
Protect him
Encourage him
Allow him to dare to be
The child that should once have been me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Who knows
Better than the nose
How a thing really smells?
Who spies
Clearer than the eyes
Where a thing really dwells?
If your heart
Is your most tender part
Then I am a compass
And you are a chart.
I will always find you
Lovely lass
And encompass you.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Your disgrace
Reflected on my bottom
Wiped with tears across your lost face
Mirrored in anguish ambushed –
Be of good cheer –
The dew
Washes the exposed leaf clean each time
The cock crows again.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
“No war, no peace,” says the warrior, wielder of the sword.
“No justice, no peace,” says the philosopher, wielder of the pen.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No negotiation, no peace,” says the politician, wielder of diplomacy.
“No prayer, no peace,” says the priest, wielder of religion.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No invention, no peace,” says the scientist, wielder of formulae.
“No knowledge, no peace,” says the scholar, wielder of intellect.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No amnesia, no peace,” says the coward, wielder of excuses.
“No memory, no peace,” says the historian, wielder of records.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No pretence, no peace,” says the actor, wielder of theatrics.
“No harmony, no peace,” says the musician, wielder of song.
“No reflection, no peace,” says the artist, wielder of images.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
It is love.
You cannot
Mathematize it.
It will
Mesmerize
Scandalize
Legalize
Illegalize
And always leave Questions
Behind.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
A little fairy, a lonely elf
All by herself
Hiding in the fields of blue
Quietly watching you
A little baby in your arms
Falls for her charms
Smiles at her and says to her:
Friend, do you live here?
The years will fly past like a sun
Running from the dawn
The child becomes an adult too
Could be me or you
Will saunter past these fields some day,
Eyes fixed on the way
Sees not the elf, hears not her whisper:
You I remember.
Then falls in love, a child is born
That for which we yearn
The adult wonders what it’s saying
And with whom it’s playing
Sees not that beings have blessed their home
Where unseen they roam
For oft a fairy close by whiles
When a baby smiles.
We take our walks, babies in arm
Marvel at their charm
We watch them smile at lonesome grass –
Energy or mass?
Something arrests their attention
Seen by them alone
An elf informs them wistfully:
You too will forget me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
There is gold
In your blood
Blue in you
And best of all
When you say How do you do
You mean it too –
Your gold I want not
Your blueblood I wish I could wash out
For it would only be a burden –
But you make me lighter
Each time I see how the people’s eyes shine brighter
When you enter the room.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
There is in me a longing
For a place
A longing which no place on earth
Can satisfy
Because I long for Home –
There is in me a yearning
For a love
A yearning which no human love
Can satisfy
Because I yearn for the Light –
But, on the other side of
The mountain peak
There is a woman to whom my
Heart belongs…
But there she is, beyond my reach
Just a tear away –
But I do not know how to cry.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 