To sweep away
The detritus
Of wisdoms found
And wisdoms lost
Wisdoms over-written
Time-worn wisdoms
Worn out
Worn down
Worn through and through
Worn like a cloak
Like a shield
Or wielded
Like a sword
Bon mots
Of thought
Here collected
Erased
Memorized
Forgotten
Fragments of
Fragmentation
Misjudged
Misunderstood
Misapprehended
Mistaken
The nattering
Incessant
Of those
Who tell
But do not ask
Themselves
And should not
Yes
There’s the rub
Instead be
Silent
Who am I?
This wall
Has no wisdom
For me
Words
They clutter up
My consciousness
Lead me astray
Turn me away
From where I find
The one true I
Deep inside
I breathe
Let go
In quiet mind
At the core
Of silence find
The I that is not I
But All
And One
That is all
I need to know
This simple wisdom
All are One
What more is there
To ask?
Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh, India
Taken during travels, 2017
Last week we went high contrast with Silhouette. This week, let’s consider Wisdom. Or find something else to inspire your creativity in this photograph of a weathered wall of wisdoms along the sacred Ganges River in Varanasi, India.
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.

Five bloggers balanced the darkness and the light with Silhouette this week. Thanks everyone! =)
- Silhouettes, by Dancing Echoes
- Winter Blues, by Stuff and what if…
- Silhouette, by WoollyMuses
- Australian Gothic, by Calm and Chaos
- Chiaroscuro, by Temperature’s Rising
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.