Separate yourself from things In order to know the value of things Go deep into things In order to learn the true value in things Separate yourself from people In order to know the value of people Come close to, go deep into, people In order to see the true value in people Metamorphose away from yourself In order to know the value of yourself Develop again into your true self In order to feel the value in being yourself. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
becoming yourself
IT TAKES TIME TO BE FREE
After I had rid myself
Of my father’s voice in my head
And my mother’s voice in my heart
And society’s voice in my ears
And fear’s voice in my throat
I stopped on a quiet morning
And listened to the sound of
My own voice
My own thoughts
My own intuition
My own will
My own way of seeing myself and seeing the world
And oh! How different it was
From what I had once thought was me.
Dazed in this silence
I looked and looked at me and me
Getting used to the sight … and feel… of me I
For it’s new when the mirror becomes an open window
Now I know why liberated birds hesitate before flying away
And why they take a while to get their bearing
And why they never return once they feel at home again in the wild.
– che chidi chukwumerije.
SIMPLE IS NO SYNONYM FOR EASY
You become yourself
When you stop caring
What others think
You become strong
When you stop caring
What others think
You become calm
When you stop caring
What others think
You become kind
You become clear
You become, simply, you.
It’s that simple
Brave one,
It’s that simple.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
TRUMPET
Seven seals locked Pandora’s box
But some clever mind surely
Was on hand to break me free
Now he’s running from me
I want you, baby. It’s redemption time
Outrun dawn? It’s time has come
Strip down and face the reggae trumpet
Natty dread rise again, too much hypocrisy
Sweet is the weight that falls off your shoulders
When you stop fearing to speak your mind.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 