LINKS IN CHAINS

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

There is someone, higher up
Who births and breathes into the ethers
One new poem everyday

In one of the poems he gave away
He expressed the wish, the urge
That far far far away

On the distant earth another poet
Would also start to do the same
And his wish came true

It may sound strange to you
But sometimes you simply are
Another person’s replica

Just by being yourself.
Life extends its boundaries
By replicating its core.

No matter what you think, no matter
What you know, of one thing be sure
There is always something more.

And when you think you created something
The blueprint was created by another
Whose path you’ll never cross

But his work lives in you, and a thousand
Years from now, another will happen upon
This thought you are thinking now

And he will think it is his original idea
And will bring it to what he thinks is
Fruition, and yet is just another seed.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

ICH GLAUBE DIR

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

Sie ist eine Art Medium, ehrlich
All die Medikamente der Ärzte
Haben es nicht geschafft, sie taub
Zu machen. So oft sie die Türe zu
Machen, immer geht sie wieder auf
Ohne Warnung…

Ich behalte es aber lieber für mich
Meinte sie, denn niemand glaubt mir –
Sie lachte nervös und schaute weg.
Ich schaute sie lange an, wie sie weg schaute
Und dann umarmte ich sie and sagte
Ich glaube Dir – und sie weinte und wurde ruhig.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije 

CHIMERA

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The moment she stopped being a chimera and became a human woman, memory and experience kicked in – my fascination waned, my hot blood cooled, my wild pursuit slowed down, and I hesitated… – Do I really want a real woman? Where is my chimera? Give me back my chimera. I want a strange thing that haunts my imagination and promises the unknown and knocks me out of my senses and makes me feel strange things. She looked at me and shook her head and said: Be careful what you wish for; learn to be grateful for the simple things you get.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

DEATH IS UNENDING

~ Che

There is death
Without dying
Death of old things
Of shedding old feelings

You become a ghost
Of your former self –
Restless in peace
Because you’ve got so much to do.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

SOCIAL INSECURITY

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

A child will fall ill today
His parents will weep
Not because the child is ill
But because there is no safety net
To catch the weak and defenceless
In the land of the Niger and the Benue

Every fall is a fall
Through the cracks
Down to the rock bottom
Your savings alone might save you until
Your savings are gone – then, if you have
No rich family or friends, citizen you’re done

A man will lose his job today
A woman will lose her home tonight
Do not tell them not to weep
For they’re falling and there’s no safety net
To catch the weak and the helpless
In the land of the Niger and the Benue.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije 

AFFÄRE

~ Che ~ 3 Comments

Verlangen ohne Erwartung
Wie geht das denn?
Haben ohne Besitzen – Vor- und Nachteile?
Alles, was ich für dich fühle
Nicht alles hast du gefühlt
Alles, was du von mir hast
Entspricht nicht allem, was du in mir hast.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

SURVIVAL

~ Che ~ 4 Comments

What don’t I know
About you is what
I silently ask myself
Each time you ask me
What I’m thinking
As I think about you

How many wars
Have you fought, won and lost?
How many lives have
You taken, how many given?
How much hunger did you endure
To nourish so much anger?

How many loves have pierced you?
How many wounds are
Dripping a trail back to
How many acts of survival?
All I see is the smile in your eyes
And the hope in your heart.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

DISAPPEARING

~ Che

That which is over
Feels like a dream
Even if it ended
Just yesterday

No matter how far in the past
No matter how far away
An unended story lies
It is with you here today

The heart is a miracle of chapters
Where pages grow blank
And as the days turn to nights and back
So life turns the pages of your heart.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

LIEBESGESICHTER

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Gedicht
Dichtzusammengepresst
Aus-ge-drückt

Kostet ein Herz auch nur einmal die Liebe
Lässt es die Welt es hören…

Hallt sie in ihm ein tausend mal nach
So wird die Welt es ein tausend mal hören.

 – Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

WHAT IS POETRY?

~ Che ~ 8 Comments

What is poetry? Rounding up a collection of old news and new olds too, poetry is the sea that washes the shores of my heart; and each time the tide is out I pick up the treasures which the sea has deposited on the sand this time. If we do not mark the sand, how shall we pick the shells? The sea is a strange one. She journeys her own Depths every dream and discovers strangers every morning. In every human there is an explorer. Some explore distant poles, some explore nearer goals, some explore the gardens in our souls. Poetry is a garden, and those who find the garden understand the poem.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.