80-82/365 Sea-Monkeys
The Great Betrayal
March 22, 2025
It started with a full-page ad in the back of a 1968 Archie comic. A bowlful of happiness. Instant pets. I was nine.
But the Sea-Monkeys never smiled back.
Lately, I’ve been wondering if we ever really outgrew that longing—for wonder, for belonging, for something to believe in.
These three pantoums trace a path from childhood enchantment to digital disillusionment, and maybe, a quiet call back to discernment.
Pantoum #80 - A Bowlful of Happiness
Sea-Monkeys, a bowlful of happiness
Full-page ad at the back on my Archie comic book
I saved up my allowance and ordered them
Checking the mailbox each day was an early lesson in delayed gratification
Full page colour ad at the back on my Archie comic book
"Instant pets! So easy to please they can even be trained"
Checking the mailbox each day was an early lesson in delayed gratification
My disillusionment hatched even before adding water to that packet of disappointing dust.
"Instant pets! So easy to please, they can even be trained"
I saved up my allowance and ordered them
My disillusionment hatched even before adding water to that packet of disappointing dust..
Sea-Monkeys, a bowlful of happiness
Pantoum #81 - The Happy Hatchery
We used the lemonade pitcher for the happy hatchery
Water purifier, magic food as directed
I pretended to be mad when Mrs. Epp flushed them
An accident at sea that wiped out their entire civilization
Water purifier, magic food as directed
Tiny specs of nothing clouding distilled hope
I pretended to be mad when Mrs. Epp flushed them
But mostly I was relieved to move on to the next ambitious dream
Tiny specs of nothing clouding distilled hope
Gazing through the glass, willing little faces to appear
But mostly I was relieved to move on to the next ambitious dream
We used the lemonade pitcher for the happy hatchery
Pantoum #82 - More than Sea-Monkeys
We still fall for it—every shiny ad, every urgent cause
Our lemonade bubble whispers, “You’re on the right side of history. It’s their fault.”
Are we the perfect pet—so eager to belong, we can be trained
By algorithms cradling us in partisan lullabies
Our lemonade bubble whispers, “You’re on the right side of history. It’s their fault.”
But what are we selling to our children?
By algorithms cradling us in partisan lullabies
Have we forgotten that listening to the other side is part of what keeps democracy alive?
What are we selling to our children?
Are we the perfect pet—so eager to belong, we can be trained
Have we forgotten that listening to the other side is part of what keeps democracy alive?
We still fall for it—every shiny ad, every urgent cause
We had less to lose back then—just an allowance, a pitcher, and a dream.
Now, the stakes feel higher.
And still, we click. We scroll. We wait for something to hatch.
INVITATION:
What was your Sea-Monkey moment?
Write about something you longed for, believed in, or bought into—whether it delivered or not. Let yourself play with memory, hope, disillusionment, and what hatched instead.
Then ask: What are you being sold now? And what do you truly long for?
A Note on Sea-Monkeys
Sea-Monkeys are actually a species of brine shrimp—Artemia salina—tiny crustaceans that can survive extreme conditions. Sold in packets as “instant pets,” the eggs (called cysts) remain dormant until water is added, triggering them to hatch. Though the comic book ads promised tiny smiling friends who could be trained, the reality was far less magical—more like translucent specs darting around in cloudy water.
My next Writing from the Well 10-week series begins March 27, 2025. We gather weekly (online) to move gently inward, to write what wants to be written, and to surprise ourselves along the way. You’re warmly invited.
See you tomorrow for #83, here in the Pantoumery.
What’s a pantoum, you say? I’m writing one each day, for a year. Learn how HERE