Pocket Treasures of Long Ago

The Pockets of my childhood held many things.
Interesting bits and pieces;
Any bit of natural charms
That caught my eye
Found its way
Into my pocket.
Nothing stolen,
Only borrowed
As I walked the trails
With my mother or Grandfather;
As I climbed the hill out back
And walked the train tracks.
One favourite treasure was the round
hard black pellets
Of Iron ore.
Heavy, solid
Perfectly round
Like marbles.
I would collect them up
As I walked along the tracks.
My only problem
Was not taking my treasures out
Before the wash day came.
I don't know how many times
My mother had to yell
And curse those blasted
Iron ore pellets.
They did not do well in the wash
And the washing machine
Did not enjoy their clatter...
I am sure my mother thought
They would break the thing.
But no matter how many times
She told me to clear my pockets out
And not bring home those dirty pellets
I did it anyway
Because they were such a marvelous find
Train treasures lost on their way
But found my me
To save their day.

40 lines.

{dropnote:"Prompt for: Jan 8, 2016 (fyn)}
Subject or Theme: Pockets! Lint-lined, emptied, unemptied, full of change or loose screws, a place to warm cold hands, sewn shut or containing treasures...what's in your pockets?
No restriction on words today; no required words, no forbidden words!
Additional Parameters: A minimum of 18 lines, rhyming or not.