rose

THIS CANDLE, THIS CRADLE, THIS CROWN

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

Shone the New Star
Like a Comet
Blessed tail a-resting nobly
Upon the manger
A guardian, a herald
Of Eternal Love
Of Eternal Light
And I saw a smile
‘Twas an Angel singing
And a Child with serious eyes
Smiling greetingly
Into a world full of strange creatures
Long lost –

A candle is re-lit
A cradle is rocked with overflowing light
The Bearer of the Crown
Came simply
And left simply
And nobody can know completely
How much love He had
How much pain He felt
How much He loved and hurt
A Stranger
A Hero
The Incarnation of Love Itself
The Love of God
Yea, Thou art He
Jesus, the Christ
The Son of the Living God!
Amen.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

FIRST BLOOD

~ Che ~ 7 Comments

There I saw a lion
With the eyes of a rose
Calmly it watched me
As I froze

It approached me, circled me
And seemed undecided
It scared me and thrilled me
And I was divided

Should I draw a knife
And the lion oppose
Or should I yield my heart
To the rose?

Then it turned around
And it was a woman
Knowingly she smiled
And looked only human.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

GROUPS OF US

~ Che ~ 5 Comments

How deep is homogeneity?
Does the colour of our skin
Express our similarity
Or mask the differences within?

How deep is nationality?
Does the passport we share
Stamp an ideological ethnicity
Or is it convenience out of fear?

Some plant gardens of roses
Some love lilies alone
Another meadow composes
A bouquet of everyone

Who can say rose gardens
Are prettier than plains
That lilies alone gladden,
Or a field that all contains?

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

THE INNER ROSE

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

Beware of those
Who like the wind does
To the petals of the rose

Like the mind blows
The poetry out of the prose
– Those who sense

The source of your strength
And work only to dent
And take away your self-confidence.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

UGLY BEAUTY

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

Let the bloody bougainvillea
Weight not down your heavy-laden shoulders
With the multitude of its crimson little hearts
For beauty can be a burden
When ugliness is your desire
Your ardent craving – throbbing need.

Remember those nights
When you were the night and the night
Was the restless insomniac
And you threw the petals of the rose away
And yearned for the thorns instead
And the thorn was your rose.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.