We came into the world
And the world came into us
We left the world
But the world did not leave us
And now we’re stuck here
Reincarnating over and over again
Unfinished with the world
And yet unsatisfied with the world too
Now knowing who we are
Or why we are here
Or where to go when we’re gone.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

Give up your heart
But not your dreams ,
You might think you’re big
But your dreams are bigger.
People who match you
Are special, but people
Who match your dreams
Are the most valuable.
You might think your dreams
Exist to fulfill you,
But it is you who exists
To make your dreams come true.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

The day is a Ray of light
The night is the light of the heart
The heart is the start of the journey
The journey is returning home
Home is where the day is a ray of light
And the night is the light of the heart
Because it is full of awakening dreams
And the heart is the start of the journey
And the journey is returning home
And home is where your heart redeems
And the day is a ray of light.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

A blue shirt is just a shirt
The red heart beneath it will still hurt
Don’t check what’s under the skirt
Just skirt the pothole on the ground
As you approach what you’ve found
If you want to turn your life around.

A black hat is just a hat
Underneath it is a mind that
Sees every colour sometimes
And sometimes black and white
With eyes closed and shining bright.
Never stop at the cover of tan,
Look through them and see the human.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

Learn to bear pain
Like the clouds bear rain
Like the earth bears grain
Like the rails bear each train.

Learn to bear pain
The loss will be your gain
When a new you emerges again.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

Some people you say goodbye to
Like a street sign or a signpost
Like a palm frond waving to and fro
Like a billboard with the picture of a ghost

Like a permanent painting on the wall
Like a window frozen shut in time
Like a silenced silent echoless evening call
Like a poem’s closing rhyme.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

Life’s poetry is kindness.
Art, poetry, music or philosophy
Without humanity is blindness.
For what is ability without sympathy?
No matter how great it’s climb is,
It is still empty
As long as it is lacking in kindness.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

For some things are soft
And some things are hard
Some things you leave exposed
Some things you guard
Sometimes progress
Means to take a step backward
To find the beginning again
And now go properly forward.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river