Don‘t slip on the ice,
Be careful when being nice
To strangers on the way,
For the way will waylay
The unwary and open heart
For whom niceness is the chart.
Temper your eagerness
With a measure of carefulness,
Protect your friendliness
With the practice of watchfulness.
Niceness has a reputation
For being an open invitation
To those who take to take again
Not caring if it causes pain.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river
Pay attention to the signals That people give you; Take them seriously - The signals won’t deceive you. No one says everything; They leave it to you To figure it out if you’re smart And paying attention too. And above and beneath it all Your own inner voice Will analyse the signals and more And make its own choice. Che Chidi Chukwumerije Poems from the inner river
Two Little birds
sitting on a tree
one flies away, one hops down
yet they both have wings
Two Little men
working in the fields
one is alive and one is dead
yet they are both in life
It is the joy of laughing that makes me laugh
not the funniness of your jokes
It is the wit of my words that makes you laugh
not the joy of laughing
It is the joy of living that makes me live
not the fear of dying
It is the fear of dying that attaches you to life
not the joy of living
Two Little rabbits
facing Mother-Wolf
one is scuttling and one is whining
yet they both have feet.
Signals.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 