Ashtray Girl

Was how she described herself to the world.
And I asked her is that meant
She was where phallic cigarettes
Met their end? She grew quiet
Then she laughed at me and said, no,
That’s not what she meant at all.

Turns out her reasoning was more banal.
More usual. She meant ash tray as trash bin-
Something to be used or thrown into.
Though tragic, I was a bit disappointed
She’d not thought more on the metaphor.

She then told me she’d never been
Questioned like this before.
It made her feel seen. But I,
I was still hung up on
How she wasted a metaphor.




Poetry by Sameen The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 186 times
Written on 2024-02-09 at 09:51

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if only ashes could speak...so many souls gone with the wind. maybe they speak a language between them we cannot hear
2024-03-27


Uncle Meridian The PoetBay support member heart!
Compelling and disturbing (I intend praise) at once. Also, the Eliot-echo at the end of stanza one is a nice, understated touch.
2024-02-09


Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
Shame. Maybe she was baiting you with the erotic interpretation? But it seems to me from what I read these days, so often we blind males only see the 'signs' way way after the event! See, your great poem made me veer off on a different tangent, and that is the mark of real writing I feel.
Blessings, Allen
2024-02-09