I’ve learnt the hard way What words can do When I write or say Them to you. When I think you will read between the lines You read the lines, And when I think you will read the lines You read between the lines. Sometimes I think you will understand That I don’t really mean what I’m saying, But the words enter you and start to expand And exact a price I will long be paying. Because words carry life And words carry meaning, A word that cuts and kills like a knife May not be corrected by a word of healing. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
AN DEN ABEND
Der Abend kann auch menschlich sein vor allem wenn Du einsam bist und allein; Er kann ein guter Zuhörer sein und leise und in seinem Schweigen tief und weise Er ist einfühlsam. Er ist nachdenklich. Er ist sorgsam, einfallsreich, fürsorglich. Und wenn Dein Selbstgespräch fertig ist entlässt er Dich in die Nacht, wo Du Du bist. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
UNTIL IT HAPPENS
You think it matters Until it happens And then you realise It doesn’t really matter You think it kills Until it happens And then you realise It only hurts for a while And then it disappears. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
EINFACH WARTEN
Ich habe gelernt zu warten Ich habe gelernt Das Herz ist ein Garten Alles hat die Zeit betreut Alles, was einen Mensch bewegt hat die Zeit empfangen und gepflegt auch das, was er später bereut Manches hat sie wachsen gelassen, dies habe ich gelernt - beim Hoffen, Fürchten, Lieben, Hassen - aber manches hat sie entfernt. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
PRE-DAWN
The light is gone from my heart And gone from my life And cut out my most sensitive part With a dark burning knife But I don’t care, because underneath The heavy mountain of pain A greater flame bursts from its sheath And lights up my heart again. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
DAS TIEFERE
Die Stufen die nach unten führen führen auch nach Oben Emotionen sind genau so wild wenn sie still sind wie wenn sie toben Nicht sehr unterschiedlich sind die die Dich kritisieren von denen die Dich loben Ich will keine Heiterkeit Ich will keine Höflichkeit Ich will einfach nur Ehrlichkeit. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
WOMAN’S HEART
Women are usually emotionally far ahead of men. For brief moments, the men might overtake, but in the overall story, usually a woman’s heart knows more than a man’s heart, knows it earlier than the man’s heart, remembers more than the man’s heart does, and retains the memory for much much longer than a man’s heart ever could.
Without woman’s heart we would lose our memory of home and our understanding of homeliness. When a woman goes, the home goes. And when a woman comes, Home comes back. The heart of woman alone can dig a tunnel to hell or span Heimdall’s bridge to Heaven. And she does it quietly, right there beside you, where the half of them poison you and kill your spirit’s joy, and the other half of them heal you and make you deeply happy. With just a few words, and sometimes even without saying a word.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
SUDDEN JOLTS
I cry spontaneous tears
They come unbidden
Rolling back adult years
All of a sudden
The wounds, the tears
A shuddering bolt
And a painful spasm
Of old fears and new cares
That repeatedly scars
Anew my heart with a volt
Of shivering behind cold
Iron intangible bars
A body-wracking jolt
And then the next moment
I quietly laugh again
Grateful and content
To reap my fruits in pain
I don’t know when
The tears will come again
At 2 o’clock or at 10
In a meeting, at a game, or on a plane
Or taking a walk in the friend zone
Or sitting at home all alone.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
DIE ERINNERUNG AN MACHT
Der arme Amfortas - Der will seinen Sturz immer noch nicht akzeptieren oder begreifen. Im gefallenen Still schickt er an, über andere zu regieren, herrisch, herrschsüchtig, herrenmenschlich und wird immer frustrierter, denn die Welt lässt sich nicht mehr lenken. Letztendlich beißt er zahnlos nicht mehr, nur bellt. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Im Jahrzehnt der deutschen Dichtung
REAFFIRMING DIGNITY
When a woman leaves a man who loves her to follow a man of money, it is the most crushing pain a man can feel. But if he does not let it kill him, it will only liberate him in the end. Every once in a while you have a chance to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “I am somebody”. Something will push you there. Something that seems aimed at robbing you of your dignity, your pride, your self-respect. Something that will try to tie your actual value as a human being to some material status or achievement or level of acceptance by someone or some people. Something that will make you feel small. And nothing does this deeper than love that chooses money over you. Then you have to stand in front of the mirror and look into the soul of that man staring back at you and recognise his true value. Remind yourself of the principles at the core of your foundations as a Human Being. Remind yourself of what connects you to God and to true life. And teach yourself again that your value is more than your monetary wealth or material standing. And don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise – not any man and not any woman. Because, In Your Dignity, You Are Somebody.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 