Sea and sky wracked with enmity
A calamity of chaos
But for the gulls
Soaring with graceful ardour
Placid amidst the tumult
Pacific Coast Highway
Northern California, United States of America
Taken during travels, 2020
Pic and a Word Challenge
I know… it’s an early post. But it’s last day on the road, and the weather came up foul here in Cannon Beach, Oregon, so I’m ensconced in my small hotel room with its luxurious bed (omg! it’s spectacularly soft and cozy) in the mood to post, and who knows when I’ll actually get home and whether I’ll have this much energy when I do. I’ll add any additional responses to the participant list for Illusions later… or tomorrow ;). I’ll comment on your marvelous additions then, too.
Last week we saw through the Illusions. This week, let’s start an Inferno, or find something else to inspire you in this sunset photograph of seagulls soaring over a tumultuous Pacific along the PCH in Northern California, USA.
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.

So far, six bloggers saw through the Illusions this week. (My, how the holidays have gone by in a blur!) =) Thank you, everyone! ❤
- Illusions, by WoollyMuses
- Ashes, by Dancing Echoes
- Just an Illusion, by Manja Mexi Mexcessive
- A Light Shines In The Darkness, by Temperature’s Rising
- My Expanse, by Mellow Curmudgeon
- Wintry Illusion, by Stuff and what if…
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating!