KAGAWONG—Kagawong resident Jesse Wilder Forrest has taken first place in a Story Trail writing contest sponsored by the Billings Economic Development Committee (EDC) with her poem ‘Right Where I Am.’
“Jesse Wilder Forrest took first place in the EDC Story Trail contest with her poem,” confirmed Billings Councillor Sharon Alkenbrack (a member of EDC) at a council meeting this past Monday. “We had a total of 15 submissions of stories and poems which is pretty good.”
The winning poem:
‘Right Where I Am’
Here I sit on the quartzite cliffs,
gazing over the turquoise waters,
contemplating the greatest of lakes.
Here I sit in the sunshine,
with a choir of songbirds,
amongst the healthy fruit of the Earth,
in the company of animals.
It is here I sit,
as I listen to the everlasting breath of the wind,
as she echoes through the corridor of cedars,
as she chimes along the hollowed metals hung in the
willows.
It is here I sit in my own silence,
on the hill near the frog pond,
absorbing their ageless songs,
consumed by the light of all worlds that have come
before and will come after me.
It is here I walk in the shadows of the wild path,
a portage familiar to those of centuries past,
the trail still hard packed from their many travels,
the Earth still warm from the feet of their ghosts.
It is here.
Right here is where the trees offer their wisdom and
the fields whisper their secrets,
as I walk amongst the chamomile and clover,
they expose their early morning faces to the Sun,
offering their medicine to brighten my soul.
It is here where I look up to watch the cranes
trumpeting flight,
where swallows dance flawlessly in the currents of
the wind,
where the deer nurse their young.
Right here,
right where I am,
this is where I feel so in touch with the Creator I can
feel the centre of the Universe with me.”
Ms. Alkenbrack noted that Preston Hunter was second in the contest, with Pat Hess third.
“With 15 submissions in total all the stories and poems will be displayed for people to view in the township,” said Ms. Alkenbrack. “The idea is trying to move people around the village of Kagawong to view the stories and poems. There will be a map put together that shows where the poems and stories will be shown.”
For taking first place in the contest Wilder Forrest won a cash prize of $100, with Preston Hunter in second place earning $50 and Pat Hess winning the third prize cash prize of $35.
