We are Interwoven
In my village, the morning begins with footprints,
the kind that overlap because no path belongs to one person.
Our mud houses lean toward one another
as if they understand that survival requires company.
A thatched roof keeps its dignity only
when every hand that tied the grass remembers its knot.
Even a cooking fire knows its limits
it warms a family, but it calls the neighbor for salt.
We learn early that a child is raised
by the same eyes that watched his father stumble and rise.
No one grows into themselves alone.
The wind that bends one hut bends the next.
This is the law older than our ancestors’ proverbs
we can only be humans together.
Chiadikobi is a final-year clinical medicine student at Ebonyi State University whose work blends medical insight with reflective storytelling. A winner of the 2025 Sejong International Poetry Competition, his poems appear in Penrose Poetry Journal, Haiku Shack Literary Magazine, Wordpeace Poetry Journal, Formidable woman Poetry Journal, and Shared Drafts Poetry Journal. His writing draws from encounters with nature, human interactions and the disciplined attention his field demands. Beyond poetry, he coaches a university debate team, refining his sense of clarity and voice. His creative process is grounded in patience, lived experience, and an insistence on emotional honesty.
DIY MFA 