You always think you’re the first
When you are young,
How startling it is when you grow up
To realise you were wrong.

So many people before you
Have these same heights traversed -
Some recorded, many unrecorded,
Their stories long dispersed.

Tread the earth with humility,
O modern day human;
Stonehenge and Egypt’s pyramids
Transcend our acumen.

And when you are still young,
Be thankful as you add new value,
For you’re building on the foundation
Of all that came before you.

Che Chidi Chukwumerije
Poems from the inner river