Analysis of Beautiful Ashes

Melissa Almen 1984 (Grand Forks)



The magic of that pure, beautiful white stick.
Then the flick of the lighter,causing a gorgeous red, yellow flame.
It brings me peace and solitude.
Watch that clean white stick change colors and slowing disappear right before your eyes.
The ashes on the end fall and flutter to the wind.
I can feel that burn, the sting each time I inhale.
That burn and sting is what I crave most.
I exhale to see the circle of blue, purple and grey smoke in all its beauty.
I’m reminded to slow my breathing and enjoy the burn, the sting, the pain.
Enjoy? Do I enjoy the pain? I guess I do.
The pain is a sense of punishment and reminds me of lessons learned.
It seems to be exactly what I have earned.
That burn, the pain, the sting is what I need to keep me sane.
To ground me to this place. It also slows my thinking and eventually I relax.
So I continue to breathe in and breathe out once more.


Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKKILM
Poetic Form
Metre 01011110011 1011010101101 1111010 111111100100110111 0101011010101 111110111101 110111111 10111010111001101110 101011110001010101 011101011111 01101110000111101 11110101111 11010111111111 1111111101110001000101 1101011001111
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 891
Words 187
Sentences 18
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 15
Lines Amount 15
Letters per line (avg) 46
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 684
Words per stanza (avg) 172

About this poem

We all have bad habits. Some habits we need to survive one day to the next.

Font size:
 

Written on February 27, 2023

Submitted by zyiawithmelissa on May 04, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

56 sec read
62

Melissa Almen

36 year old female, married to military man, living in small town North Dakota. Raising their 4 boys and works as nurse in her spare time. Loves working in her flower bed, watching her sons play baseball, football, and basketball. Needs a nap more than anything! more…

All Melissa Almen poems | Melissa Almen Books

7 fans

Discuss this Melissa Almen poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Beautiful Ashes" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/129072/beautiful-ashes>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    7
    days
    0
    hours
    21
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who is credited with creating the first poetry slam event?
    A Grand corps Malade
    B Kerry James
    C Victor Hugo
    D Marc Smith