As we continue the NaPoWriMo challenge, on Day 20, let’s depart from the alphabet briefly. Today, our prompt is “20” or “Stream-of-Consciousness.” Read “20” by Barbara Guest, a stream-of-consciousness poem sparked by the number 20. Then write your own stream-of-consciousness poem, either inspired by the number 20, or inspired by anything else. Don’t take too long to come up with a jumping-off point: You could grab something off your desk or use the first thing you notice when you go outside.
Feel free to share your poem (or a link to your poem) in the comments.
The NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) challenge is to write 30 poems in 30 days during the month of April. Find out more at the official site, NaPoWriMo.net.
Alyce Wilson is the editor of
Wild Violet and in her copious spare time writes humor, non-fiction, fiction and poetry and infrequently keeps
an online journal. Her first chapbook,
Picturebook of the Martyrs; her e-book/pamphlet,
Stay Out of the Bin! An Editor's Tips on Getting Published in Lit Mags ; her book of essays and columns,
The Art of Life; her humorous nonfiction ebook,
Dedicated Idiocy: How Monty Python Fandom Changed My Life, and her newest poetry collection,
Owning the Ghosts, can all be ordered from her Web site,
AlyceWilson.com. In late 2019, she published a volume of poetry by her third great-grandfather,
Reading's Physician Poet: Poems by Dr. James Meredith Mathews, which also contains genealogical information about the Mathews family. She lives with her husband and son in the Philadelphia area and takes far too many photos of her handsome, creative son, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda.
Green and Gold
As I look out onto the back yard
The setting sun has fired the greening grass
Trees bursting forth in new foliage
Spring’s arrived at last.
Blue sky darkens into twilight
As Ol’ Sol retires this day
In vain has been our pleading
Please, for just another hour stay.
As darkness creeps across the landscape
Stars above begin to shine
Full moon rises in the east
To end a day sublime.