Least not in
The classic Poet’s manner
I’ve never studied
What the Poets say
Nor worried much
How they place their words
Or why that way
I do not know
How to write a sonnet
I am not sure
What makes pentameter
Iambic
I hope that’s OK
Onto the page
While, mostly
I just try to stay
Out of their way
That seems OK
Sometimes
It’s not a word
That comes
Seek the word
Which resolves
An emptiness
In a line
In a stanza
In my spirit
In my being
In this existence
In all creation
Remain authentic
Compassionate
The words…
They seem
To come out
OK
Mojave Desert
Route 66
California, United States of America
Taken during travels, 1997
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 images
- You may use my image in your post, or any image you have created
- 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.

Seven bloggers got cozy under their Blanket this week. Thank you, everyone! ❤
- Blanket, by Dancing Echoes
- Blanket, by Dancing Echoes
- The Goodbye Blanket – A Poem, by I Do Run
- New blanket, by Manja Mexi Moving
- Morning Fog, by Temperature’s Rising
- Road to Happiness, by Stuff and what if…
- Break On Through, by Proscenium
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating!