You have to fight to be free - True freedom, inner freedom - Fight your fears and anxiety, The chains of your inner fiefdom; Fight your propensity and proclivity For weakening pleasure ; Fight your despondency And fight your insecurity With courageous Hope in equal measure. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Freedom
FREE
Free me Let me Be me Let me Be free Set me Free. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE POWER IN THE COURAGE TO BE TRUTHFUL
Truth is so powerful. There is almost nothing That you cannot forgive a truthful person. It’s a strange phenomenon. What is hurting You is healing you, is teaching you a lesson. Even while suffering, you can’t stop trusting. Something about them awakens respect in us. Truthful people fascinate the coward in us, Inspire the warrior in us, touch the human in us. In the depth of their sin, yet they carry the cross. Even at their worst, they’re still the best of us. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
THE INTUITION
Many thousand years have passed
And many thousand more will too
But when it’s over you will see
That the lies still have not changed the truth
Intellect will build a ship
That will fly to distant stars
But only intuition will know
What makes human beings happy
What makes human hearts happy..
Believe that you can make a change
Then spend your life trying
Speak your mind and be free
Before dying
Because the intellect will find a cure
For every sickness on this earth
But only the Intuition will know
What makes human beings happy
What makes human hearts truly happy..
It’s irrelevant if the seeds you sow
Do not yield fruit in your lifetime
It doesn’t mean a thing if no-one applauds
As long as deep within, you touch the happiness
Of having been true to yourself.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
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.
LIVE, PAIN, LOVE
It’s just life
No pause
Inescapable laws
No brakes
No breaks
No breaking out – you’re done in
Few gives, few takes
The dark is near
It is in there
It’s always there
It’s just life
You pay the price – that’s your role
There is a myth, a legend
A hurt-filled, painful, word
They call it love
There are no guarantees
But they say
It will set you free – nothing more
It won’t bring you wealth
It won’t bring you power
It’s just life
Keep it warm
Keep it safe
Keep it alive – love – it’ll keep you alive.
– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.
KINDNESS BEYOND POETRY
Be kind to people
Let kindness be your all, your strength, your gift
Your highest art-form, beyond craft
For you are human
Kindness is life
Kindness is the root of eternity smile
Kindness can move mountains
Can conquer pain
Gives us comfort in our hour of desolation
Kind eyes keep the heart alive
Kindness conquered me
Let kindness conquer you too
Become a servant of kindness
Become a master of hearts.
The naïve are not always naïve
Sometimes they are simply grateful to kindness
For kindness shown and kindness received
And now they too are passing kindness on to others
For one who has been saved by kindness
Will serve kindness evermore
Nothing sets a human heart free
Like the heartbeats of kindness deep within
Sometimes it’s difficult, sometimes it’s easy
Sometimes you forget, sometimes you remember
And in the moment of your death
It will be your acts of Unkindness that haunt you
And make you long for another life, another chance…
And it will be your acts of kindness
And the acts of kindness shown to you
That comfort you, give you hope
And show you the way into life after death
You are not alone.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IS RESISTANCE
No master gon’ willingly let a slave go
No oppressor gon’ willingly let the oppressed rise to his level
If you wan’ freedom, you gon’ take a blow!
The loss of property and means
The loss of power
The loss of status
Yea, the loss of status
Hurts like hell.
When you rise, it means that
Someone else is no longer higher
Than you and has to stomach that –
Remember that.
You gon’ pay a heavy price
Because everyone around you
Knows the value
Of self—elevation, knowledge and freedom
They will make you pay for it
If you’re really worth it.
The price of your freedom is their resistance.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
OUR SHARE
The freedom you give yourselves
Is the freedom you’ll share
If you say I won’t be free
You’re bound to binding me
If you say you’ll own it all
You’ll have to fight us off
Because I want a piece of peace
A pint of prosperity
A joint of hope and happiness
A chunk of a chance at success
A healthy dose of social security
And a shot of education –
Give us our share!
Cheers!
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
INSTINCT
You have to go deep
To decipher the truth within
Deep enough to be unable
To come out again. Catch 22.
Then you will ask yourself
What use is the knowledge
If you cannot use it
To free yourself from the truth.
But humanity kicks in
The instinct for self-preservation
Some call it the third eye
The inner voice, the sixth sense.
Reason says go left
Yet your feet turn right
There is an inner road
That leads through the night.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 