be careful

NICENESS

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

Don‘t slip on the ice,
Be careful when being nice
To strangers on the way,
For the way will waylay
The unwary and open heart
For whom niceness is the chart.
Temper your eagerness
With a measure of carefulness,
Protect your friendliness
With the practice of watchfulness.
Niceness has a reputation
For being an open invitation
To those who take to take again
Not caring if it causes pain.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TRAVELLER BEWARE

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

Wary of thirst
Wary of wandering
Weary, I wet my cup
In a wellspring I met
By the wayside

And when I put my lip
To its wet lip, the cup shivered
For bitter was the bile
That rose up from the well
And choked its heart

Traveller, it sang, in a voice
That wavered in the distance
Guard your thirst –
For not every bird that sings
Sings of dawn.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.