Along the paths I travel
Some recorded, for all time
And others a shadow memory
Each a fleeting moment
Seen in the context
Of another realm
And none too clearly
What they are
Where they are
Who they are
Preconceptions projected
Upon an object
Obscuring the features
Of the object
I sometimes see
The scattered light
Like a projector’s beam
In a smoky cinema
Reminded of my prejudice
I try to see what is
Beneath what is seen
Edit the image I project
But the projector
It’s always running
The image never quite
Reflects the object
It never occurs to me
The projector becomes a spotlight
If I could just
Remove its image
So I carry them
My collection of ghosts
From place to place
All the way home
Lajpat Nagar Metro Station
New Delhi, India
Taken during travels, 2017
The Pic and a Word Challenge is a weekly creativity prompt offered Sundays.
Each week I provide a photograph of mine along with a single word. The challenge? Use the pic and/or word as points of inspiration to create something — a photograph, a painting, prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, longread or just a few words. You are welcome to use these two elements (photograph and word) literally, thematically or metaphorically. If you create both images and words, all the better.
To participate:
- Use any title you like
- Your response can be words and/or an image
- You may use my image in your post, or any image you have created
- Place the challenge’s Pic (if you use it for inspiration) and Word prominently in your post
- Mention that you are responding to the Pic and a Word Challenge
- Add a link to this post in your response
To help us find your response — whether on WordPress, Instagram, Flicker, Tumblr, etc. — you can also:
- Add a comment on this post to announce your response
- Apply the tag/hashtag “Pic and a Word Challenge” or “#picandawordchallenge” to your post
Each week, I’ll list the previous week’s responses at the end of the new challenge. I may also share some on my social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.
One blogger was Becalmed this week. Thanks CJ (who has yet to miss a challenge, btw: impressive!) =)
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.