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
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ABENDWESEN
Ich fühle den Abend wie ein Wesen,
das mich umarmt, wenn ich einsam bin –
Es ist spät, es ist sehr viel gewesen,
gewesen und ist nicht mehr. Ruhe. Abendsinn.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
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
IN DIR ZUHAUSE
Du kannst fremd sein und Zuhause sein. Du kannst Zuhause sein und fremd sein. Es ist egal, wo Du bist Wichtig ist nur, wer Du bist Wichtig ist nur, wie Du bist. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
REBIRTH OF HAPPINESS
I found Happiness in my heart. It came out of the Blues, I don’t know where from, just at that moment and in that phase when I was experiencing the deepest betrayal and the most excruciating pain. I embraced the pain and decided to let it carry out its mission within me. I only made one promise to myself, I would not let it kill me.
One morning, when I was at my lowest, I called out to Happiness and begged it to come to me, swore to myself that I would find it. I knew it heard me, I felt it in the message it sent to me, like a vibration that touched my heart and awakened Hope. But the pain stayed, it did not go away immediately. Instead, it intensified and seemed to make one last grand grab at my Soul and my inner life, to kill me inwardly at last and for good.
I struggled, stumbled, but kept on walking, full of pain. And then, just as suddenly as this sentence follows on the last one, out of the Blues, in the middle of work and mundane daily chores, just when I was not looking or paying attention… Happiness suddenly showed up in my heart, like a Hero, like Sunrise, like a gift from God, like a warrior of Light.
Happiness is a strange thing, it lifts you high on wings of lightness, fills your heart with buoyancy, and makes you… Happy.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
TRUTH IS THE REFEREE OF TRUST
Truth is the referee of trust. Truth and truthfulness, not perfection. Nobody is perfect and everybody does wrong sometimes or makes mistakes. Trust does not hinge on perfection and it cannot do so. Trust hinges on truth and truthfulness. You trust people, not because they are perfect, but because they are honest to you.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
ALLES GLEICH
Die fremde Welt da draußen Die fremde Welt hier drinnen In mir ist es genauso fremd wie außerhalb von meinem Sinnen und mir. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
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
DON’T RUN
I don’t run from the pain. I hold it inside until it hurts no more. That’s how I deal with it. Time is irrelevant, because time stands still. Only experiencing, internalisation, transformation and growth are important. And once those have taken place, the aching melts, the pain stops hurting, drops off and goes away – but not before giving me all its energy and all its wisdom; and awakening in me the capacity to take in bigger worlds tomorrow, and the Newness to love again another day. But above all, it reboots my spirit and re-ignites in me the Childlikeness to one day trust again with a healed heart. But with more circumspection and attention to detail next time.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
HERZDRUCK
Die kalte Erde
drückt den Schnee
fest gegen ihre Brust
so fest, es tut ihr weh
Schmerzmittel
Herzkittel
Kälteres Jahresdrittel
und es tut immer noch Weh.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 