You know, when you do not Want to stop missing a person, but… One morning you rise and go through the day and only In the evening do you realise That today you forgot to be lonely And in that moment when you remember That person, you wait for the familiar pain… But as sure as August breaks into September The ache is gone, you’ll never feel it again. You know, when you do Not Want to stop missing a person… Because missing that person Is the only thing you’ve still got - But… One day even that leaves you too. Yes, even you. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
missing
UNMISSING
You stole my heart But when you gave it back It was no longer a part Of the things that I lack. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
YOU SAID
You said you were coming
I said I’d be waiting
You said you wouldn’t be long gone
I said I’d be waiting
You said it was only temporary
I said I’d be waiting…
Nine breaths
Nine years
Nine life-times
And I’m still waiting.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
PRESENT
Some people seem absent
When they are present among us
Unnoticed by us
And yet when they go
Their absence leaves a big hole
Where their quiet presence once was
A very noticeable absence.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
MISSING
Where are you?
The police have looked high and low
Community watch and kind strangers near and far
Have tried your trail to follow
The orange tree we planted
Yields season after season bitter bitter fruits
That would turn sweet were you but here
To pick them off their roots
The children you lovingly bore
Daily older grow, as beautiful as you were
They ask where their mother is
Unable to comprehend how people disappear
I wish we hadn’t gone on that holiday
I wish you hadn’t taken that stroll
That night alone to watch the waves
The ensuing years have taken their toll
My thoughts spank of guilt
I should have been your guard on every walk
What happened, my love? Footsteps don’t talk
Time is a blackboard of fading chalk
Give me a sign of life
Calm my heart, let us know
You’re happy, even in the beyond somewhere
Saying goodbye, I love you in my soul
Strength is a luxury
But succour shall whisper quietly some day
All good things come together in their own day
In their own way, this I pray.
Waiting and waiting in vain
For you to return, to talk, share and to listen
Where are you, my dear? Your picture is silent
Written above it, that killing word, still: MISSING.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
LOVE YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
Souls stranded at sea
Search-pilots say they are ghosts
Whisping like clouds on frothing waves
But fishermen swear they are worried human faces
Who approach with one plea:
To send one last message back home
Before they vanish:
It will be well
Until we meet again.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
LOST PLANES
Like the lost letter
I sent to you – the postman never said
It never arrived
And I’m still waiting
For your unsuspecting reply
And yet it is you who are waiting
For me on the other side.
How can coplanar souls lose sight of each other?
Their calls echo leeward and die unheard.
How can planes fly into the wind and disappear
And leave gaping wounds behind
Lost at sea?
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
MISSING THE MARK
Some wounds cannot heal
Don’t open them for they are
Like the clock that ticks only forward
How ever often the cycle closes
Yet the wound still bleeds
Because I saw into your mind
All the I’m sorrys in this world
Only make it worse
We met, it seems, just to miss.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
WHEN BIRDS TOUCH HEAVEN
When birds touch heaven
All we hear is
Music
And the music
Melts away the frozen tears
In my eyes
And my heart aches for you
But what is done is gone
Heaven and bird and wishing star
Where are you?
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
WHAT IS IT EXACTLY THAT HAPPENED…?
What is it exactly that happened
In the moment
That we met ourselves again?
A very strange thing
Stranger than strange
A strange change
Came upon you and me
And now we are one.
What is love?
What is this love
That is greater than us?
What does it want with us? What?
I miss you.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 