Consumes my will
My strength
Is naught but the workings
Of my fearful mind
I breathe
Speaking the words in my mind
Over the chatter of thoughts
Breathing in
Breathing out
Displacing the chatter
My thinking stills
So that the maw closes
Upon the vacuum
That is the peace
Of a quiet mind
Without fear
To sustain it
The maw dies
Revealed as an illusion
Created by fear
Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències
Valencia, Spain
Taken during travels, 2019
Pic and a Word Challenge
Last time we found the strength to Rise from the chaos. This week, let’s breathe the Fear from our minds, or find something else to inspire you in this HDR photograph of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, Spain.
The Pic and a Word Challenge is (usually) a weekly creativity prompt offered Mondays.
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.
The previous challenge was: Rise

The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #249 was Rise, along with this photograph of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, Spain.
- Rise, by Dancing Echoes
- Making Phở – A Poem, by I Do Run
- Whistling in the Graveyard, by Defying Atrophy
- Rise From This Chaos, by Sumyanna Writes
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating!