WHAT WORDS CAN DO

I’ve learnt the hard way
What words can do
When I write or say
Them to you.

When I think you will read between the lines
You read the lines,
And when I think you will read the lines
You read between the lines.

Sometimes I think you will understand
That I don’t really mean what I’m saying,
But the words enter you and start to expand
And exact a price I will long be paying.

Because words carry life
And words carry meaning,
A word that cuts and kills like a knife
May not be corrected by a word of healing.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

TALK LESS OF TALKING

How do you move from talking everyday
To never talking at all? Say. Say. Say.
Because speaking about each Problem,
the say, is how to begin to solve them.

But what if speech is the problem and
Silence is the only solution close at hand?
What if talking everyday is too much
And the pauses bring the deeper touch?

Che Chidi Chukwumerije

Poems from the inner river

THE BREAK-UP

The worst pain I ever felt
Was once when I embraced someone
And my embrace, she said,
Made her think of someone else.

Some things you should keep to yourself,
Yet it’s better when they’re spoken out
And it’s best of all when they hurt like hell.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

WHEN WE’RE WEAK

When we’re down, that’s when
We should cheer each other up

Silence is gold when happiness is upon us
In sorrow, speech will hold us together

Hold me when you crave to be held
You didn’t know you were lonely until I hugged you

When we’re weak, we become stronger
This is the illogical magic in the heart of friendship.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.