Doors shut and barred
Windows sealed from within
A dead end
At the end
Of a narrow
Corridor
No retreat
No respite
No redress
Then a door opened
Beckoning
The voices within
Sang songs of hope
And possibility
Of healing
And renewal
Beyond the door
The way remained unclear
But the long, dark night
Of the alley
Was over
Plaza de Nazaríes
Granada, Spain
Taken during travels, 2019
Pic and a Word Challenge
Last week tallied up Mathematics. This week, let’s find an Opening, or seek something else to inspire you in this HDR photograph of the Plaza de Nazaríes of the Alhambra in Granada, 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: Mathematics

The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #251 was Mathematics, along with this photograph of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, Spain.
- A Calculated Life, by A Shared Space
- mocked by numbers, by Defying Atrophy
- Mathematics, by WoollyMuses
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating!