We are excited to announce the winner of the April 2022 Chattanooga Writers' Guild Monthly Contest is Jennifer Daniels Neal with the submission "On These Back Trails."
Jennifer Daniels Neal is a singer/songwriter, author, and teaching artist out of Lookout Mountain, GA. Her recent novel The Locke Box and its accompanying soundtrack, "Songs from The Locke Box" are available now.
Congratulations, Jennifer!
On These Back Trails
The wet leaves came to smell like freedom
Freedom was the carpet of our peace
And patience creaked and groaned up in the oak trees
Which, in turn, bowed down and dropped more of their leaves
Seasons circled our back trails with forgiveness
Every bluet called it forth and made it grow
And hurled us toward the cliffs of rudimentary
Solo flight into adulthood of the soul
I will one day gather all the leaves around me
When they come to plant me down in this good soil
I will sprout inside the mercy of my childhood
And remember to forget the later toil
I will welcome heaven with the wonder
Welcoming of summer
Pouring out of schoolhouse kind of joy
The theme for May is "On the Water".
To learn more about the Chattanooga Writers’ Guild, please visit them online at chattanoogawritersguild.org
This contest is made available to members only. Submissions will be initially judged by the Chattanooga Writers' Guild contest committee and the top five will be posted. The winner will be decided by popular vote.