change

RUNNING WATERS

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

The story you told in the west
Is not identical
With the laughter you laughed in the north
Nor with the song you sang in the south
Nor with the thoughts you expressed in the east…

The language you spoke on the mountain
Is very different
From the tongue you mouthed in the valley
And from the violins you bowed through the woods
And the ballad you composed upon the blue-green meadows…

The roar you let out as you charged past us
Has a different meaning
From the groan the desert drew out of you;
And the whisper which you sighed in this grateful heart
Is not the same cry with which you flow into the sea.

– 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.

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.

INSPIRATIONS

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

The things that inspired me yesterday
Still inspire me today
And will still inspire me tomorrow –
And yet
My poems,
Though they be of one mind,
Will continue to change and to grow
Because Inspiration
Does not change,
But I,
The poet, do.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

NAIJA

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

They call you many things
Name-calling is a game of stones
Hydra-headed mad woman chattering away
Away noisily to the sea – come to me, let me be
My own jam-packed contradiction.

Let’s take a stroll from the desert to the sea shore.
Before you get there, you will have to heal
The sick and the infirm, educate
The ignorant, the uninformed, the misinformed, the rudderless, help
The needy, house
The homeless, don’t forget
The aged, the retired, give money to
The poor, awaken hope
In the despairing along the long way to Africa’s destination.

Dictators and cabals raise hell
Entertainers and fanatics raise the roof
And the corrupt raise the cost of life –
We’ve had enough of them all
Let’s raise our standard of living.

There can never be freedom, never
Be peace, nor security, in a system that nurtures
The endemic poverty of this
Many people.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

A DEEP AWESOME SILENT MOON

~ Che ~ 7 Comments

This night’s moon
Is wet and red
Pensive, heavy
Soaked in a silent mystery
And a bloody cry as of hunting wolves
Unheard of and staining
The blue-black canvas of the tree-dotted nightscape

She struggles
This fascinating moon
To lift herself above the palms
And jab
Our consciousness
With wishes from the embers
Of the invisible weavings of life

The faithfulness
Of the ever-returning moon…
Soon the tree-tops
Who now stare levelly at the moon
Will also have to raise their eyes up
If they want to see
Her face…

O lovely awesome red moon
Rising above the palm trees
Ascending again
Sink like the silence of peace
Deep into my breast.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.