Gouged from mountains, crushed by time and ice, now at rest
Here I, immersed in the hiker’s mindful peace
Each measured step a meditative breath
Though, could I see
The immensity of time
With the eyes of this still young Earth
Then peaceful moment lost
Turmoil and cataclysm of tumbling land
And in those eyes, what am I?
But a mote of dust
Lost to infinity
The paradox
Of permanence
Which seems rock
Imagined by this fleeting “I”
Whose spirit knows
A moment in eternity
As an eternal moment
Below the Columbia Icefield
Jasper National Park
Alberta, Canada
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.

Four responses for Steadfast this week. Thanks everyone! =)
- Steadfast, by WoollyMuses
- Steadfast, by Dancing Echoes
- Road to Solitude, by Stuff and what if…
- Crows Feet, by Along the Interstice
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.