A grey day
Light flattened
By a thick
Midday haze
Made all the more grim
By my mood
Impenetrable as the atmosphere
From full steam
To dead ahead slow
All stations stop
Close my eyes
Deep breath
Not stopped
Becalmed
Diminished light emerges
Find the blue
In sky and sea
Contrast highlight with shadow
Underway, with tranquil gratitude
Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry
English Bay
Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada
Mount Baker, USA, Washington state, in the deep background
Pic and a Word Challenge
Last week we fell back with Progress, (to which, btw, this post is a response 😉 ). This week, let’s find the peace in Becalmed. Or seek something else to inspire you in this photograph of a bright, sunny Vancouver skyline taken from the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo Ferry in British Columbia, Canada.
The Pic and a Word Challenge is (usually) a weekly creativity prompt offered (also, usually) Mondays.
With each challenge I provide a photograph of mine along with a single word. The challenge? Use the pic and/or word as inspiration to create something — a photograph, a painting, video, 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 to illustrate your post, or any images 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: Progress

The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #302 was Progress, along with this photograph of a grey, dour Vancouver skyline taken from the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo Ferry in British Columbia, Canada.
- Progress, by An Embarrassment of Riches
- Progress, by WoollyMuses
- It Was Very Good, by Defying Atrophy
- Anticipation, by HeavensSunshine
- Progress, by Frost on the Moose Dung
View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.
Happy Creating! ❤