We Are the Same - Just as capable Just as valuable - Just as intelligent Just as resilient - Just as determined To even out the score And you cannot put me down I have not yet had enough I want some more What are we waiting for? Black does not belong to the back But to the front and will come back To the fore Through the front Door. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Poetry
SNIPPETS
Hard words are sometimes the kindest Foraging eyes are sometimes the blindest Life’s help is sometimes to put you to the test It pushes you to move when you long to rest I’ve never wanted something so badly before I’ve never eaten to my fill and still wanted some more I’ve never said goodbye and continued to feel so sore I’ve never been so trapped before in a folklore So many new things starting at the same time Be patient when you’re looking for the right rhyme Little doses of salt and pepper, curry and thyme Life is sometimes a little sugar, sometimes a little lime I love like Haily’s comet, ever and again I come again Laughter fills my heart again and conquers the pain I can’t explain it, I am a lake and I am the rain And so are you, and every end is just another refrain. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
ON THE STREET
There are people who live on the street The street’s human face and heartbeat By rain and sun, by snow and by sleet These are those people that we meet Shuffling past and huddling by our feet Who we glance barely by and rarely greet Kindness, it seems, is truly a mean feat. Arw we afraid to share in their defeat? Is life a race in which we all compete? Does shame force the broken to retreat? Do losers get an opportunity to repeat? People at their lowest don’t need our conceit. A part of ourselves lives on the street Looking for dignity, a roof and something to eat. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
CHANGE IRREVERSIBLE
There is Something about Change - Once it starts, it is irreversible. Not even the changer knows its range, Its final goal is indecipherable. Today forgets how yesterday felt, It only remembers that it felt somehow. The sun shines, the snow starts to melt - A deep Winter exits with a bow. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
DIE HARD
All the things I thought would kill me, Didn’t kill me. But they sure did hurt… They hurt like hell for a long time - But they didn’t kill me. They made me wiser, stronger and sadder; But in the end I’m still me. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
LOVE IS THE LIGHT OF THE HEART
Love is a light It illumines the heart And makes it bright And it is light Like a winged cart Rising to the height Love is a chart It always goes right Right from the start Love is the highest art Love is the deepest light Of which Happiness is a part. Love is the light of the heart Love is the happiness of the heart Love is the strength of the heart. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
TRUST IS
Trust is a thread
Is an earthenware pot
Is a glass cup
Do not break it.
Sow with it a garment of protection
Cook in it a meal of spiritual nutrition
Drink from it the water of eternal affection
And never break it.
It is hard to remake it.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
HEAVY WITH THE WEIGHT
The snow is red but not with envy Heavy with the weight of thought Waiting for the warmth of friendship Forgiveness and love and a drop Of sunlight to melt into the ground Going it looks ugly but it’s not Letting go of what you thought you’d found But, patience, the Earth will eat it all up. Are you snowing, are you falling Are you resting, are you thawing Are you meting, are you calling For companionship while you’re withdrawing? Slowly withdrawing… Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
A PART OF YOU
Sometimes a part of you Can live outside of you And run away from you And refuse to come back to you And will ignore you And will not recognise you And will reject you And will hurt you And will avoid you Because the reason why It is living outside of you Is in order to find itself And fully become itself Through struggle, experiencing and reflection Uninfluenced by you In order to one day be able To complement you And be complemented by you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
WHEN I WAIT
When I wait, I wait for you When I go, I go to you When I stand, I stand with you What are you? When I live, I live in you When I die, I die because of you When I work, I work for you Who are you? When I remember, I remember you When I dream, I dream of you When I long, I long for you When are you? Why are you so present? Why are you so absent? Why are you so prescient? Why are you? Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 