Your Heart is an independent being, Don’t mess with it or it will show you pepper. All the wahala you think you’ve been seeing Will be yam when it shows you real shege. It will riot and refuse to obey you; It will sing praise songs to your enemies; It will believe things that are not true And long for its own self-decided remedies. It will turn into a wild unpredictable stranger With its own rules and on its own mission; It will rush forward and fear no danger, Driven by its own incomprehensible Vision. And when it hurts it will burn like hellfire; And when it laughs, you feel you’re in paradise; And when it loves it loves with fierce desire; But if it dies, your urge to live also dies. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
heart
WHERE THE HEART BELONGS
Someone who doesn’t take you with both hands, willingly and eagerly and totally, that person is not your home, nor you theirs. No matter how much it hurts, tear yourself away from them and move on.
Wounds heal with time.
We live in two worlds simultaneously. The one world is politics and society, is work and recreation, is projects and ambitions and all kinds of responsibilities, is ideologies, and is even family too sometimes. This is the one world, in which we chase achievements.
But there is another world in which we also live. It is deeper, is more subtle, more intense, quieter, and often very invisible. It is the loves that come and go; the tears and longings that burn our hearts; the seldom laughter of genuine joy; the raw friendships; the secret passionate love affairs; the intimately guarded happy home; the given trust and the broken trust; it is the real us deep inside.
We live in these two worlds simultaneously. And then time passes, and we die. And our obituary is full of what we did in the one world. While all our memories from the other world depart with us quietly in our hearts. And in the hearts of those who shared it with us.
Wounds will heal with time. But, while you’re on that journey, don’t go to where your heart does not belong. Seek your happiness in being true to yourself, always.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Undulating Plains
ONCE YOU TASTE TRUE LOVE
Once you taste true love Lust becomes a mechanical chore Pleasure is no longer enough You want something more. You learn to recognise the grain And separate it from the chaff - You want to feel that joy again You want your heart to laugh. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
I DREAM EVERY TIME I FALL ASLEEP
I dream every time I fall asleep And it’s always one adventure or the other; Conversations with beloveds I keep, My best friend, my father, my brother, And strangers too with whom I laugh and weep And fight and love and comfort one another; The dangers are real, the emotions are deep, Every fear, every tear, every worry and bother; At times I weightless fly, or I burdened creep, Through encounters that liberate or smother, But I’m always conscious even in the Deep, As awake as a baby born out of its mother. For I have vows to keep and sowed seeds to reap - And before it gets lighter it will get darker - And miles to go and never really sleep. 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
BELIEVE YOUR HEART
Believe your heart, It does not lie; Let it be your chart and your Why - Why you believe or disbelieve a story; Why in all things you give God the glory; Why you wake up and get up And dress up and show up Morning after morning after morning Like the sun always returning every morning. Why you remember the sun and look up And drink renewal from the Grail Cup. Follow your heart, no matter where it may roam - It is like a magic chart that knows the way home. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
HURT
Love hurts. Life hurts. People hurt. People hurt people. And hurt people hurt people. And when it hurts too much People begin to avoid the touch The inner touch Sometimes they permit the outer touch But only perfunctorily as such Because even it hurts too much. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
LOVE IS REAL
Love is real And rare And it’s a big deal In here Where we feel And care And hurt and heal And share. To steal the heart Is to seal the heart And throw the key away Forever minus a day. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
LOVE HURTS
If love hasn’t driven you mad Then you’ve never felt love before If love hasn’t made you unbearably sad Then love has not yet pierced your core If love hasn’t tested the line you had Between the good and the bad and fundamentally changed you forevermore, Then yours isn’t love, just a lore. And the most astounding part Is the dull ache somewhere in your heart and the cold ashes that remain when you walk down memory lane. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
A HEART FULL OF MEMORIES
We came we went And the time spent Was like a drop of memory In a few people’s story Who themselves are gone too And, if not yet gone, are going too. If you have a heart Now is when to start Keeping record in there Of what you’re doing here On this planet distant and blue - Your memories are for you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 