For Sarah’s prompt over at dVerse Poets Pub. Poetry and mindfulness. “First of all, I want you to find a small object….so long as it fits in the palm of your hand.Now, set the timer for a couple of minutes…” Then write a poem about the object(s).
Sea Treasures
“Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand” William Blake
Tiny sea treasures picked up decades ago,
Carefully saved amazingly whole and unbroken,
smooth, pristine, perfect.
Sitting on a shelf in my mother’s room
for many years.
Fragile. Strong.
Incredible tiny shells
from the rough ocean.
Scooped up by my teenaged hands
and kept as treasures
beyond death.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 19:58:07
Love the contrast of smooth and rough. I’ve always had shells on the shelves of my childhood home too.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:07:12
I love these tiny shells. They are over 50 years old (rescued from the ocean age). The bitty sand dollaralways amazes me.
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Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:12:15
They are so beautiful and strong, a lasting treasure from your mom. They are indeed treasures beyond death, theirs as well.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:22:00
It amazes me how many decades they have stayed perfect, as perfect as the day I found them in the surf.
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Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:52:07
I guess they’re just like bones, very lovely bones
Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:20:15
It is amazing how such small things bring back large memories.
Sep 25, 2018 @ 20:22:22
Yes it is Frank
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Sep 25, 2018 @ 21:07:58
Beautiful!
Sep 25, 2018 @ 23:14:34
Shells from the beach have stories to tell, if we just stop and study them for awhile. I like how you collection has both fragile and strong from the unforgiving ocean!
Sep 25, 2018 @ 23:19:30
“Kept as treasures beyond death.” I have never heard of seashells described that way, but it seems apt and, in your poem, a good symbol.
Sep 26, 2018 @ 03:51:11
A perfect Blake quote and, for me, a perfect poem, Toni! I am a beachcomber, when I get the chance to go to the beach, but I’m amazed that you still have sea treasures:
‘Carefully saved amazingly whole and unbroken,
smooth, pristine, perfect.
Sitting on a shelf in my mother’s room
for many years’..
I also love the connection between your life now and your ‘teenaged hands’.
Sep 26, 2018 @ 04:15:52
I love the contrast between the roughness of the ocean and the smooth delicacy of the shells. Impossible not to scoop them up, impossible not to treasure them.
Sep 26, 2018 @ 07:29:08
they are very beautiful, my daughter collects seas shells and catalogs them, they are really treasures from the sea and I am touched how well you have kept them as a memory in your mother’s old room
Sep 26, 2018 @ 14:36:39
I love how you have connected them to the memories… I recon you can remember the moment you picked them when you hold them
Sep 26, 2018 @ 14:38:17
Yes I can remember the day like it was yesterday.
Sep 26, 2018 @ 20:12:28
They are beautiful treasures indeed. I’ve never seen such a small sand dollar. Amazing how the smallest things can bring such a fullness of heart.
Sep 27, 2018 @ 07:58:25
Different layers of infinite. The quote sets up the poem nicely…familiar treasures that carry different memories for each of us.
Sep 29, 2018 @ 13:14:53
I have a few collections as well. I love the fragility and intricacy of shells. I like how you make note of the contrast of strength and fragility. An amazing combination.
Sep 30, 2018 @ 22:34:34
Thank you! I loved picking up shells at the beach. At one point in time, we had several bushel baskets of shells in our attic.