Published May 15th, 2024
Poetry Contest #19 – First Place
by Chelsea Awang
Woe, woe;
Woe unto the wishing stone.
A dainty sphere floats on salt tears
And sinks deep into my closed palm
It chases me
Bright light; ray of dazzled fluorescent
golden only in the warmth of the sun
Reflecting colours I had no business dreaming of
And wet like frost on my tongue; in May,
in the darkness of my mind, it shines not
But weighs useless as brick
It dangles from one ear
to blind the eyes of men
to distract me in the mirror.
It burns in my iris
and dazzles in my smile
Gifted to me by selfishness
Never a dweller of heaven dared it hold
When I throw it far into open sea
It swims back to me
give it again to me
– For my birthday, when I turn nineteen,
"The art of losing isn't hard to master" –
In Okigbo, letters of Peter and John
In my professors, my mom
And in you, my prized monologue
A dream child whose gaze I love
About the Poet
Chelsea Awang resides in Jimeta, Adamawa, Nigeria.
Read the poet's biography on Chelsea Awang's Artist Page.
Next in Wax Mag #4:
Siempre Norte
by Nicholas Allison
Back to Wax Mag #4
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