strength

THE CYCLE OF HURT

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes people don’t realise the enormity
of what they have done until much later.

Somebody hurts the other
And the other hurts another
And this other hurts some other
Who hurts yet another
And the cycle of hurt continues
Until one person decides to take the hurt
And keep it
And not pass it on to any other –
And ends the cycle of hurt.

The enormity of the act
Of starting the cycle of hurt
Is surpassed by the enormity of the act
Of ending the cycle of hurt
Even if neither of them is aware
Of what they did when they did it
But forever and ever
The forgiver is always greater than the avenger
And the lover is always greater than the hater.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

YOUR STRENGTH

~ Che ~ Leave a comment 
When they hit
The reason why it
doesn’t hurt is not
because it’s soft
but because you’re
tough to the core.

Laugh the loudest
When they hit you the hardest
Stand the proudest
When you face their mockery test

Your strength won’t bring you victory
Your strength IS your victory.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river

USING SELF-CONFIDENCE

~ Che ~ 2 Comments

The most powerful thing you can give people is confidence. Self-confidence. But some people, once they have it they turn around and use it against you, who awakened it in them.

Next time, you feel like leaving people wallowing in their pitiful inferiority complex.

But a part of you still goes ahead and keeps on strengthening people who need it everywhere you meet them. What they later do with this strength and self-confidence is their business.

You have done yours.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije

GENTLY TREAD

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

Just because I‘m alive doesn‘t mean I‘m not dead
Just because I‘m talking doesn’t mean anything has been said
Just because I‘m lost doesn’t mean I‘m not being led

You might still be hungry, even after you‘ve been fed,
when you’ve been fed stones instead of bread

Those who heal wounds today, have also once bled.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije

YOU AND YOUR STRENGTH

~ Che ~ 1 Comment

When I was younger
My strength was stronger
Than I was
And it made me do what it wanted
And made me undaunted.

Now that I am older
I have become bolder
Than my strength
And I make it do what I want
On every other battlefront.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije

WEAKNESS

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

The greatest strength
is the strength to look beyond
your own strength
and find in your weakness
strength in other people’s strength.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
#poemsthatmakeyouthink

KNOWING

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

Ignorance is bliss
Yet I choose torture
Nature left a space
For growth via Nurture
Pain is the price I gladly pay
To be at home in my own Skin
The sadness is without
The Lion is within.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

NATURE OR PROPENSITY

~ Che

For people who, by nature, are partner-faithful and relationship-loyal (I’m talking Sex here), there exists in their inside a great big Why when they observe how a person who they know really loves his/her partner with all his/her heart can have a sexual interchange with a third party – one time, or for a shorter or longer period, or intermittently – and yet remain totally committed to and in love with their chosen “permanent” partner. Is it a predisposition or a weakness?

It’s like a puzzle, a mystery that defies solution.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

CORNERSTONE

~ Che ~ 3 Comments

The stone that stood
Alone, refused
And baked in sunshine hard
Stepped upon
Spat upon
Outcast, reject, discard
The stone that the builder refused
The stone that the hammer abused
Philosopher’s stone, dreamer’s muse
Song without a bard
Song without a bard.

Dark is the night
No light in sight
What can I say as comfort?
Rugged stranger
Lonewolf, Ranger
Even words of comfort hurt
The house is slow, is slow to rise
Each wall is pride, is compromise
Nobody wants to apologise
As they yearn for your support
As they yearn for your support.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
—-

MISSING

~ Che ~ 6 Comments

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.