In the darkness
An inner light
Dim but ageless
Beyond is daylight
Through a window
Barred
Trapped
Inside
I quell the panic
Mindful
Of the small dim light
Until it grows
Illuminates the darkness
And the latch
To the bars containing me
I am free
Remembering the power
Of even a small dim light
A Small Dim Light
Crease Building Dungeons
Riverview Hospital
Coquitlam
British Columbia, Canada
On location for The Magicians, 2016
Pic and a Word Challenge
Last week we took delight in Starlight, this week, let’s be Freed or seek something else to inspire you in this photograph of a lone Edison bulb casting a delightfully subtle light in the dungeons of a former mental hospital, taken while filming The Magicians in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
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: Starlight

The word for last week’s challenge was Starlight, along with this photograph of Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic Starry Night as presented by Imagine Van Gogh in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Three bloggers found inspiration in Starlight this week. 😉 Thanks Everyone!
- Starlight, by Dancing Echoes
- past painter’s present, by Defying Atrophy
- Light Bursting Through the Shadows, by HeavensSunshine
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating!