Poetry

THE SPIRIT THAT AWAKENED IN THE WOODS, HILLS AND LAKES

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

View over Lake Grasmere from the Woods

What has been the point of all that toil?
City’s prisoner, corporate spoil
A long line of sleeping, not being alive
Continuous weeping
Waiting for the day I’ll be reaping
That, after which I strive.

My heart has been leaping, trying to see the sun
Beeping, calling for the sun
Until my heart was full to the point of bursting
Full of longing
Blossoming of a full sense of belonging
Deep has been my thirsting –

This holiday, like a holy stay, in Gras- and Windermere
What have you done to me? Suddenly so clear
The poet in me again, ready to go his way
To be confronted
By all the effects of a life he’s always wanted
Work is as play.

There is no alternative to being who you should be
No wealth, comfort, security will make you happy truly
Nothing can compensate a spirit for a wasted life
A deep sense of guilt
At death, crumbling, the empty life that was built
Has not soothed the inner strife.

Boldly go your way, seek no reward, Bravery
Must be your natural part, unaffected, unwavering –
No poet ever wrote for money who served Inspiration
The path is the goal
The burning of the Spirit Flame deep within the Soul
Unpoisoned by Ovation.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
amazon cover copy cumbrian lines 2015

POETRY IN EVERYTHING

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

She stands by the roadside
Smoking her thoughts away
Thoughts she tried
Could not find the words to say
Arise dejectedly, smoke and ashes
The green light flashes.

One last drag, last sigh
Last attempt to inwardly see the way
Shoulders sag, the look in her eye
When she turns briefly her head our way
Before stepping off across the road
Is itself a long and winding road.

A Cumbrian mountain-walk
Winding past trees and waterfalls
Feet heavied, it’s your heart bears the bulk
Of any stray Sorrow that calls
Many strange paths will cross your feet
Follow not every path you meet…

A short smile crosses her face
Our eyes meet, a moment of connection
A smile at once everything unitable in one place
Joy, sorrow, interest, disaffection
The smile’s source is its end
Just made and lost a friend.

Deep, the heart of every wanderer
Your path is the outgrowth of your heart
Gently touch, gently leave each sojourner
Take solely what the moment did impart
There’ll be enough in it to sorrow or sing
Poetry lurks in everything.

A moment in time, no content, no words
A mighty happening just played itself out
She crosses the road, I turn off at the boards
Never again will our paths cross, no doubt –
My woman walking beside me the whole time
Did she sense at all this passing rhyme?

The small, silent things that come and go
Without our really paying attention
The rock-solid things our hearts know
Even when we pay no attention –
The inner bond that withstands passing things
Takes note of the closing of little rings.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije

INVISIBLE WINGS

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Fluttering somewhere, unseen
Fluttering softly, fluttering quick,
Fluttering, fluttering, an invisible being
Floats over quietly with a candlestick
And a flaming crown around a little wick,
Slightly seen, partly unseen…

They float, candle, being, and candleflame
Over the heads of a thousand men and more…
And alight gently upon a budding dame
Who, touched by an angel, bears a look never seen before

And poets and musicians and men
Draw from her look inspiration again

And again.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije

WHY WE SORROW, WHAT WE KNOW

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

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.

GENTLE STRENGTH

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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.

CHILD, ARISE

~ Che ~ 5 Comments

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

COMPASS

~ Che ~ 4 Comments

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.

RESURFACING

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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

OF THE HEART

~ Che ~ 4 Comments

“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

SCANDALOUS

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It is love.

You cannot
Mathematize it.

It will
Mesmerize
Scandalize
Legalize
Illegalize

And always leave Questions
Behind.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.