We came we went And the time spent Was like a drop of memory In a few people’s story Who themselves are gone too And, if not yet gone, are going too. If you have a heart Now is when to start Keeping record in there Of what you’re doing here On this planet distant and blue - Your memories are for you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Poetry
THE MIRROR RIVER
A mirror is a river.
Think not that what you see
Is your image reflected.
What you see is your mirage projected
To what you want or no longer want to be.
To get there or to come back
You have to follow the river
From your source to your sea.
To get here or to go back
You have to cross your river
Of pain, vanity and complacency.
Your mirror is your prophecy.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
THE RIVER OF REFLECTION
If one day you see yourself
On the other side of the river
And yourself tells himself
To move on and forgive her
And yourself turns around
And walks into the distance
And you’re left with the sound
Of the inner river’s dance
Will you follow your inner self
Across the river of reflection?
Or will you follow your inner self
In the opposite direction?
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
UNCOMMITTING
There is always a moment
That one moment
When a connection can take place
That moment was silent
We spent it masking face
In a superficial space
And it came and went.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
UNMISSING
You stole my heart But when you gave it back It was no longer a part Of the things that I lack. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
JUST ONE TEAR
A tear will travel longer distances
Than a river
A tear will dig deeper holes
Than a sea
A tear will rise higher
That clouds and mountains
A tear will break the strongest heart
Irreparably.
Just one tear
Will drown the whole earth
Just one tear
Will water the garden in your heart.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
ANCIENT SPIRITS
Give me ten minutes And I‘ll give you a million years of reincarnation Locked within my heart. No limits. Everybody I meet is my next destination. Don’t think I am just this person you see, Born a few decades ago - just recently. I, like you, am ancient, like the sand and the sea. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
FORGETTING AND FOCUSING
I dreamt that something did not arrive But think now as I may I cannot remember What it was in the night that didn’t arrive As though the memory I don’t remember Is itself what it was that did not arrive. Morning comes and I am alive Full of tomorrow’s energy and drive So I wonder what it was I forgot today I guess it must be yesterday. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE TURNING POINT
Sometimes you can‘t really tell When or why you lost interest in a person When exactly the bondage fell And you finally understood life’s lesson Being mediated to you through them A fallen leaf is a priceless gem It mothers and yields a new rising stem. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOU MUST BE PATIENT
There will be hope But the heart must cope First with a season Of conflict sans reason This moon is long faced And tied to a dead sea Rolling scrolls misplaced By startled history. You must be patient Time is clairaudient It hears your heart beating And your footfalls repeating The dance to victory. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 