Loss ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #199

Slinki Extra Wide I, Gallery Bistro, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada

From time to time we lose
People, places and things
We love

In the absence
Recollections induce the bittersweet
With time, perhaps, becoming less bitter than sweet

Losses lightened
By the moments, words and images
We’ve captured

The joys once lived
Remain in our memories
And in our hearts

In the empty spaces
Something new, perhaps
Something new to love

Slinki
Gallery Bistro
Port Moody
British Columbia, Canada, 2019

Last week a favourite little place, Gallery Bistro, suffered a catastrophic fire. A sweet little venue for art, live music and delightful eats, the bistro hosted my friend Ian’s band, Slinki, several times over the last couple years. It was while watching them last year I talked with the owner, Helen Daniels, about mounting a show of my photographs and poetry. Within a couple months, she graciously hosted during Harmony in Word and Form from late August through the end of October last year. I am so very grateful for that opportunity.

Helen, and her husband Rainer, are generous, loving and kind, and have been great supporters of the arts in Port Moody, even well before the bistro. They don’t know what the future holds for them or their gallery, but perhaps there will be a new venue, a place to create new happenings and joyful memories. But whether or not there’s a new Gallery Bistro in their future, I hold them and their beautiful little bistro close to my heart, and fondly in memory.

Last week’s challenge had us lighting Beacons. This week, let’s visit with the bittersweet of loss, or find something else to inspire you in this photograph of the band Slinki jazzing up the Gallery Bistro in Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada.

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.

Last week’s challenge: Beacons

Beacons, Amphitrite Point Lighthouse, Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada — Challenge #198 ~ Beacons

The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #198 was Beacons, along with this sunset photograph of Amphitrite Lighthouse in Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada.

Eight bloggers lit up Beacons this week. =) Thank you, everyone! ❤