INNENSTADTBLUES

~ Che ~ 11 Comments

So, ich war wieder in der Stadt
Einkaufen gegangen und wieder am Rande
Des Wahnsinns zurück
Nach Hause gekommen.

Niemand hat mich beleidigt oder geärgert
Niemand hat mich angelabert
Niemand hat mich verletzt oder angegriffen
Niemand hat mich wahrgenommen oder ignoriert
Doch war ich wund
Als ich wieder zu Hause war.

Die Musik holt mich langsam runter
Blues, Innen wird’s sanft bunter
Musik macht mich munter
Geschlossene Türe kurz genießen, aber
Die Innenstadt ist wie ein Liebhaber
Den wieder zu treffen ich mich freue
Den wieder zu verlassen ich mich freue
So was nennen Verrückte wahrscheinlich die Treue.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

LOVE IN THE DAYS OF HATRED

~ Che ~ 8 Comments

Bold of heart and stonecold must you be
And extraordinary too, gentle one
If in these days the bad news on TV
Doesn’t strike fear into that heart of yours!
Because mankind is still not free.

But listen, listen to me now, lamb and dove
The hour approaches when on a dark empty street
You shall be the last lantern still shinning as from above
And no-one, not even you, will understand fully why
In these days of hatred your heart grows stronger with human love.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

MIRAGES

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So they faced me
If I was half a man, I would face them back
Good thing I was full man, not half
Or I would have fallen for the illusion
That you have to fight to be a man

So they turned away
If I had a little sense, I would beg for mercy
Good thing I had much sense, not a little
Or I would have fallen for the delusion
That you have to join the crowd to have a face

So they attacked the strangers
If I loved my kind, I would join in the attack
Good thing I loved humankind, not just my kind
Or I would have fallen for the mirage
That you have to hate strangers to love your own

The world is full of cynics
Who on earth still believes anything good?
Raise your hand in the air
And wave it like you just don’t care
If you really don’t care

There are many ways to fall asleep
Many ways to hide away
Many ways to deceive yourself into believing
Your mask is better than your face
Is better than yourself.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

DICHTUNG UND WAHRHEIT

~ Che ~ 8 Comments

Wie viel Wahrheit vertrüge die Welt
Gäbe es die Dichtung nicht?
Entweder müsse die Welt der Wahrheit weichen
Oder die Wahrheit verliere ihr Gesicht.
Zum Glück gibt es eine, die geschickt
Wahrheit und Lüge so verbindet
Daß die Lüge ihr Gesicht bewahrt
Und die Wahrheit trotzdem nicht verschwindet.

Je mehr es zu sagen gibt, und
Je weniger Zeit zur Verfügung steht
Desto mehr greift der moderne Verstand
Auf Empfindung zurück, die alles verschlüsselt
Und alles entschlüsselt in einem Gedicht.

Sie ist weder Reim noch Vers
Noch Lyrik, noch Prosa, feige noch kontrovers
Sie ist einfach ein bisschen anders.

Sie war die Sprache aller Wahrheitsbringer
Denn sonst gäbe es nicht Worte genug
Sie ist die Sprache jedes Scheidenden
Der ein letztes Mal alles noch einmal sagen will
Zum Besipiel und flüstert nur: Leb wohl,…
Auf Wiedersehen.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

SAVING THE HUMAN RACE

~ Che ~ 3 Comments

Another typhoon
Another tsunami
Another hurricane
Another earthquake
Another flood
Another fire
Another loss and pain and tragedy
Why am I still counting all this heartbreak?
We will all fall victim some day
To another natural accidental act of fate
It is our one united destiny upon this mysterious earth.

And then the wars and the migrations…
Some say they are human-made
But don’t blame only the countries involved
Many other people and governments secretly share the blame too.

We suffer as a continuum,
One humankind.

If these things don’t bring us together as one human race, then nothing will. Saving the human race is not just about saving lives. That is just the one half of it. The other is the anchor: It is about preserving the humanity in us when we let another’s suffering touch us and move us to help. We save two human beings. Them and us.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

HATRED HAS MANY BELIEVERS

~ Che ~ 9 Comments

Watch that hatred bang
Its head on the wall
Watch it struggle against a bridge
Over a gorge, dig a hole and fall
Hear it, baffled, ponder into the night.
The middle is thinning out into left and right
I know you don’t believe in the light
Because it’s hard to believe in something
You don’t understand –
It’s safer to hate in numbers
For the logic of hatred is easy to comprehend
Only a few will be left standing
After love has conquered the land.
Tread soft, haters, you’re walking on quicksand.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

IF I HAD ANOTHER CHANCE

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

Love, mountain of salvation
For human and every nation

Fountain of water of life
In every joy and every strife

School for the commencement of tomorrow
Full of fulfilment, free of sorrow

So if I had another chance
I’d do it all again
For without this rhythmn, this chant, this dance
Life’s sure a lane, but a lonely lane.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije,
May 1990.

TOMORROW

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Wait a day longer, Tomorrow,
If you can – for Today is sweet as comfort
Yet, no, blue shadow, you carry me forward
A lotus dream on a tide older than Ganges
And here I am again, on the cusp of dawn
Seeking a new song of morning.

When did I sow all these seeds ripening out of me?
And then Today whispers in repetitious verdure
Every new day you live emerged from your heart.
The beauty of pleasure and the beauty of pain
Is that they have to fight for you tomorrow again.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

SUBMISSION

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Her submission was gentle
Like the admission of a lie
With head bent down
And a whisp of shame on her lips
At first she refused to move her hips
And for a long time her eyes were closed
And yet, without saying a word
Or moving an inch, tenderly
Like the tide rolls in
She shed the finer layers of her skin
And let me in.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

LARGE GREY CLOUDS

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

swallow that pride
step aside
that narrow heart, it is a road
open it wide

lei in that sunshine
look out the window
that thing out there that makes you
feel so good, it is light
and you’ve got it in your eyes

sometimes, locked away
i espy the large grey cloud
i understand that you are proud
is it so hard to let go?
to let those feelings show?

guess it must really be hard or
you would have done it long ago –
i see it in your eyes.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.