How much is peace worth?
How many countries on earth?
How many blood-sprinkled shirts?
How many interrupted births?
How many truths? How many lies?
How many will regret a compromise?
What price is worth the prize?
This is the danger:
Peace is a stranger
On earth.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Because I love you
I love your scars
Trophies of all your wars
Because I love you
I love your ugliness
In and out of your dress
They make you special
And beautiful in my eyes.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
You had to go to hell
To get the truth
After your ejected it
In heaven.
Don’t you know?
That’s the way it works
My friend
Hope you get it now.
Hell is Heaven’s secret school.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
If you’re a wall
Don’t pretend to be a door
Or promise me a window
Stand tall to your word
So I can lean on you
When I’m feeling trapped
Gasping for air, seeking light
Don’t let me come running to you
Thinking you will open
I will hate you forever
But, more than that,
My trust will grow wings and fly away.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
They share things with one another
Which some say husband and wife
Ought not share with each other
Yet they do –
When I asked them why, they paused
And the tables turned and they
Said we are not husband and wife
We are married only for the sake of society
In truth we are friends and enemies in one
Lovers, fighters and sojourners – born
Of the same madness, of the same truth
Of the same sadness and joy and mystery –
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
I looked around and thought
No, this too is not my home
It’s time to move on
Then a voice from inside me asked
Where then is your home?
How long will you keep on
Moving on?
And I answered: I do not know.
I do not remember my home
But when I get there
I will know it –
That is why I keep on moving on.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
You have to go deep
To decipher the truth within
Deep enough to be unable
To come out again. Catch 22.
Then you will ask yourself
What use is the knowledge
If you cannot use it
To free yourself from the truth.
But humanity kicks in
The instinct for self-preservation
Some call it the third eye
The inner voice, the sixth sense.
Reason says go left
Yet your feet turn right
There is an inner road
That leads through the night.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Brave fool
You spoke the truth
Now it’s fallen off your shoulder
Breathe easy
When you look into the distance
Your eyes aren’t distracted by your thoughts
You see the observant trees
The bird minding its business
For your conscience is clear
Heavy is the hand that holds the knife
That strikes you down
Heavy is not thine heart. It is light.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
A day
Is a long way to travel
A truth
Is a deep lie to unravel
A kiss
Is a message of sorts
Friendship is a breaching
Of the law of torts
Intimacy is most intense
When you and your enemy
Break down each others’ defence.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije
I saw suddenly one day that there on our face is a mask. Strange, but it moved. It spoke. It smiled. It frowned. It scolded. And it watched the world obliquely.
And the last thing it will tell you is that it is a mask.
And only love can break into this mask and comprehend its bearer. And only love can break into this mask and be comprehended by its wearer.
And then to my horror I saw that every continent has its masks. Every race, every group and every face. But whoever is unmasked by love is masked by love.
And love can speak, can comprehend every tongue. And on the day we have all learned to speak the language of true love – respectful, selfless love – we shall have no more the need to mask our hearts anymore.
– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.
Che Chidi Chukwumerije 