understanding

FARSIGHTEDNESS

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

There is a Nigerian saying
What a child cannot see from a treetop
An adult can see from the ground
They usually say it with a gentle smile

The boy that I was, the child now in me
Was nourished by my mother’s love
While the man I was becoming, who now I am
Was nurtured by my father’s severity

So when they say true love is severity
And severity is sometimes the truest of love
I guess I know now, in retrospect,
What they mean to say between the lines

It is impossible to see both sides –
Day and Night – simultaneously
You have to experience them one by one
And then piece it together in your mind.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

FORGIVENESS

~ Che ~ 3 Comments

That blossom
That let go of the tree
And fell to earth
Is forgiveness

That recognition
That pain was the unavoidable teacher
Is forgiveness

That cleansing tear
Is forgiveness.

But I never want to see you again.

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.

SPACE

~ Che ~ 9 Comments

Distance
Brought me closer to you than
Romance
Ever did or ever could

Distance
Is more intimate than nearness
Substance
Needs space to come together

Distance
Is at the heart of our closeness
Long live the resistance
That makes the current of love flow.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

SOLIDARITY WITH SELF

~ Che ~ Leave a comment

Your brother in the ghetto
Is still your brother –

He might not have attended
The same type of schools as you did

He might not have acquired
The same kind of polish as you did

He might not even know
That you’re not as different from him

As he thinks
He might think

What you think: you’ve become strangers
No. He is still your brother

And when a bullet comes in the dark
It can’t tell the difference between you and you.

– CHE CHIDI CHUKWUMERIJE.

YOU, MY RIVER

~ Che ~ 4 Comments

I see you in this moment as a river, flowing out.

If you touch it, it makes your fingers wet. If you drink it, you get thirstier. If you watch it, you never come to find out its wherefrom or whereto. If you dive in, it takes you to a place from which you can’t return.

So you have to be strong, and outriver the river and outthirst your thirst, for the river flows in you.

And if these words mystify you, then you understand the effect you have on many people.

But when you dive in, dive deep into the river’s bed and clench its roots with your teeth and bite, so hard, that it bleeds. Then will you see the river run…

– Che Chidi Chukwumerije.