Wax International - "The Sinkholes" by Chisom Oscar

Wax International –

"The Sinkholes" by Chisom Oscar

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May 15th, 2026

Wax International Contest #5 – First Place

The Sinkholes

by Chisom Oscar

A great cry has gone unheeded.
Once again, we’ve ignored
the corroded whispers in all our ears;
walking roads paved for us,
trailing well-worn chains
forged long ago.
 
There is an exquisite pain 
in looking up, in seeing the 
war-torn scaffolds of our freedom.
A strength in denying
the blinding bliss
beckoning us towards depths
from which nothing honest can return.
 
It wounds to face the mirrors
and see ourselves unmasked
of these conducts foreign to us.
What we are, and what we might be,
muted by a tune that lures us on.
 
But the romance in humanity lies in this:
that as we brace to take the plunge,
to slip into that pit of perpetual amnesia,
a hysterical hunger for liberty
shoves us off the edge,
setting us on another dog-eared trail,
another slow, blind walk
towards the next sinkhole.

About the Poet
Chisom Oscar resides in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Chisom Oscar's Artist Page.

This poem is also featured in Comet #8, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: futility, self-deception, illusory emancipation

Previously published in Wax International:
The Weight of Seeing
by Mohit Mitra

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