The Chattanooga Writers’ Guild is excited to announce the winners of the April Poetry Contest. This month’s theme was “Loss.” The First-Place prize goes to Chris Wood with the submission “Mourning Recipe.” Honors for second place go to Laura Gunnels Miller for her entry “Water Color Self Portrait.” Thanks to all who participated and special thanks to our talented Poetry Judge, Rachel Crumble!
First Place: Chris Wood
Mourning Recipe
Mix holidays, anniversaries, birthdays,
and the little moments together in a large bowl.
Sift memory, breaking the lumps of bad seasons
until crumbly. Pour time over salted wounds.
Spread evenly throughout your day. Bake
until tears dry, simmering through all the Firsts.
Slice remembered stories into bite-size pieces.
Serve warm with those still here.
Chris Wood explores the intersections of memory, faith, and place. A Kentucky native now living in Tennessee, she draws inspiration from Southern landscapes, etymology, and the rhythm of everyday life. Her poems appear in January House Lit, Heart of Flesh, Salvation South, and other literary journals and magazines. She is the author of Yesterday Echoes, a poetry chapbook from Finishing Line Press. When not writing, she serves as a Director in Operations Services for a real estate investment trust and enjoys life with her husband and their pack of fur-babies. Learn more at https://chriswoodwriter.com.
Second Place: Laura Gunnells Miller
Watercolor Self-Portrait
These are not spring colors.
Yellow skin, pounded
pink forehead, and bruised
purple knuckles on an open
left hand clasping
angled face, shielding
his shattered stars. Beneath
black, coffee-ground
brows, eyes are planted
deep. In disturbed
water, even lilies
will hesitate to bloom.
Laura Gunnells Miller is from the mountains of southeast Tennessee. Her work appears in Tar River Poetry, Artemis Journal, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, Abyss & Apex Magazine, Salvation South, Art on the Trails (Southborough, Massachusetts), Equinox, Mildred Haun Review, Tennessee Voices, and elsewhere.
The Monthly Contests rotate through a pattern of Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction throughout the year, with a new theme each month. Go to the 2026 Monthly Contest Series Info page to view the genre and theme for each month.
This contest is free to enter for members of the Chattanooga Writers’ Guild. To become a member, click HERE
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