The day of my memory wasn’t on some luscious sandy expanse with clear blue waters. It was in fact a rather dreary day at Donegal Bay, and the carpet of jellyfish on the surf looked almost as if you could walk on them, they were so thick. What was amazing to a small boy was the shells on the shore, there were hundreds, maybe thousands on them. As I look back at it they were not pristine in any way. I am sure most were broken or irregular, but I enjoyed collecting them. In the end, I had a little suitcase full of them, though the case was probably not much larger than a lunch box.
Little treasure chest
Full of King Neptune’s riches
Shells of memory
Padre
Padre's Ramblings 
I do remember walking along the shoreline… but I mostly remember the seaglass…
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I adore this memory! You’ve captured so well how as children, we think things are so much bigger than they are…so much more ideal. The idea of the “suitcase” really being no bigger than a lunch box and those miles of shells seen as treasures to collect, probably actually being broken pieces and everyday shells. The church I went to as a little girl had a “grotto” on the side of it….inside….a cave that had a rack of candles you could light and a statue of Christ with a bleeding heart. I remember it being so mysterious…a real cave inside a church. And I remember our church as so big!!! We took a trip back to my home town some 10 or 15 years ago….having been away for 60 some years. We went into the church….oh my. The “cave” was actually preformed black plastic….and the church was so small. What is it they say, you can’t step twice into the same river?
Thanks for sharing this…and the haiku was perfect for it!
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A brilliant memory! We lived nowhere near the sea when I was a child, but I remember the magic of it when we went on day trips, especially shells and pebbles. I remember too the disappointment that they were not as shiny and glistening when I got them home. My grandfather showed me that keeping them in water in a jar would bring back the shine. What a joyful haiku!
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A lovely memory of seashell treasure. Thanks for sharing. Happy Monday
Much💜love
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I was nearly 20 before I had ever seen an ocean or a seashell!! Your little treasure chest would have indeed been a treasure to me! I love your memory
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This is so sweet. I to collected shells and sea glass if possible. And otherwise collected stones with funny shapes as the shore of the lake I grew up by.
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Beautiful haibun.
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Well done, Padre. Love the haiku.
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The things precious to us as a child are precious indeed, because they are blessed by imagination. Great share Padre!
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Enjoyed your telling of this lovely memory.
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A great memory of shell collecting! Good you did not try to pick up the Jellyfish! Such great treasures for a little boy!
Love your haiku!
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The haiku at the end of of your Haibun is a wonderful ending to your piece. The carpet of jellyfish is a great, fresh image. Enjoyed!
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Wonderful!
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Gorgeous! A carpet of jellyfish and a lunchbox of shells. Just beautiful.
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How delightful, growing up in the landlocked Midwest, I did not experience a seashore until I was seventeen!
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