I have to be
The father of the child in me
Protect him
Encourage him
Allow him to dare to be
The child that should once have been me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Light of awakening
OF THE HEART
“No war, no peace,” says the warrior, wielder of the sword.
“No justice, no peace,” says the philosopher, wielder of the pen.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No negotiation, no peace,” says the politician, wielder of diplomacy.
“No prayer, no peace,” says the priest, wielder of religion.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No invention, no peace,” says the scientist, wielder of formulae.
“No knowledge, no peace,” says the scholar, wielder of intellect.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No amnesia, no peace,” says the coward, wielder of excuses.
“No memory, no peace,” says the historian, wielder of records.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
“No pretence, no peace,” says the actor, wielder of theatrics.
“No harmony, no peace,” says the musician, wielder of song.
“No reflection, no peace,” says the artist, wielder of images.
“No forgiveness, no peace,” says the lover, wielder of the heart.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
WE FORGET AS ADULTS WHAT WE KNEW AS BABIES
A little fairy, a lonely elf
All by herself
Hiding in the fields of blue
Quietly watching you
A little baby in your arms
Falls for her charms
Smiles at her and says to her:
Friend, do you live here?
The years will fly past like a sun
Running from the dawn
The child becomes an adult too
Could be me or you
Will saunter past these fields some day,
Eyes fixed on the way
Sees not the elf, hears not her whisper:
You I remember.
Then falls in love, a child is born
That for which we yearn
The adult wonders what it’s saying
And with whom it’s playing
Sees not that beings have blessed their home
Where unseen they roam
For oft a fairy close by whiles
When a baby smiles.
We take our walks, babies in arm
Marvel at their charm
We watch them smile at lonesome grass –
Energy or mass?
Something arrests their attention
Seen by them alone
An elf informs them wistfully:
You too will forget me.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
THE RETURN
A boy gave to a girl
A string of promises
Each vow was a pearl
And he strung eleven pearls together
On a silver cord
And presented them to her
As a parting gift…
But those who sow must reap.
She gave his string of pearls
To the man she really loved
And he gave it to the woman
He really loved
She gave it to the person
She really loved
Who gave it to the one
Most truly beloved
And so on and on
Until one day
The boy’s string of promises
Found its way
Back to him
Unbroken.
– C.he Chidi Chukwumerije
ENDINGS
You seek them at the beginnings
And find them not
You seek them through the middles
And find them not
You seek them at the endings
And find them not
Because where you were sure you would meet the End
You met only a new Beginning
And when you have started afresh
You understand that there are no endings
Because no stranger ever affects one so strangely
Or passes one by so quietly
As the end.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
A BIRD FROM AN ALIEN COUNTRY
A girl arose from bed one morning
And heard the alien call
Of a bird
From an alien country
She looked out of her window
Saw the bird
Hovering in the air, calling…
The girl became confused
For she could strangely understand the bird’s song
And yet knew not its meaning:
The first person to trust me
Is mine…
Sang the bird.
And then the girl’s brother shed his night-gown
And flew out to meet the calling bird – the bird
From an alien country…
And the girl watched them fly away
Two identical birds
To their alien country
The first one to trust me
Is mine.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
THE RAY
When a flower blossoms
We know
That it has been touched by
The ray
When a woman blossoms
We know
That she has been touched by
The ray
The beautiful ray.
When a writer is touched by
The ray
The whole world blossoms.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
MAGICAL MOMENT
If we could see the future, what would be its past?
If we could see the future, would we change the present?
And would we then see the new future that arises out of that?
If we could see the future, would it still be the future,
or would we have turned it into the past?
And what would the future then be?
I guess we can never really see the future…
The present is the future.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
TWO ROADS THAT NEVER MEET
In space, so strange, I observed
That roads abound
Some straight, some crooked, some even swerved
And came around
And then saw I two roads together walking
Side by side they walked, all the while talking
They spoke, they joked, they conversed
But never touched
Yet still as friends they traversed
Countries that notched
They sometimes turned and peered into each other’s eyes
And yet, so strange, they never formed any ties
They diverged, they converged, and again,
For days on days
They changed, they exchanged, each its lane
Yet kept their ways
And on and on they travel on their way to Heaven
Never parting, never touching, sometimes odd, always even…
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
THE FUTURE
The way your friends of today
Speak about their friends of yesterday
Is the way they’ll speak about you
To their friends of tomorrow too.
It’s easy to read the future
All you have to do is remember the past
Most things stay true to their nature
The first shall be the last
It’s always pride that leads to the fall
When people peak ‘cause they know it all
The sin that brought an angel down
Beware of it when your heights you crown
Those that swim in every wind
Will fall under the influence of your every whim
But when events keep you far away
Another’s mind will bend them its way
And those that always rise again
Or stand when others fall in pain
No-one can say the reason why
Yet, no matter what, they never leave your side
It’s easy to read the future
If you know how to read the past
Most things stay true to their chosen nature
The first shall be the last
That’s why when an Oak falls
Which long stood undefeated and tall
We feel an odd sadness, vulnerability
Injury upon our sense of stability
It is also the reason why
When a Sinner repents, beyond the Sky
The Angels are moved to their very core
And rejoice like never before…
It’s easy to read the future
Too often it mirrors the past
Yet leave a little room for error
For the human heart is vast.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 