Ashes

Ashes

 by
Betty Hayes Albright

I finished it off last night, my love,

with the embers I had kept

when you blew out your half of our love,

I finished it off and I wept.

.

With ashes you had left behind

I fanned a spark that remained

and when it was lit, burnt my half of our love

and watched it like someone deranged.

I watched the thick smoke disappear

and knew I could never pretend.

These ashes could never be otherwise

so I scattered them into the wind.

(c) 1964, 2011 Betty Hayes Albright

Pencil drawing – (c) 1965, 2011

     The main idea of this piece is that the ashes of love are gone when a person leaves the relationship when the fire is still burning. The ashes are the symbol of a love that has died, while the fire is a symbol of a love that is desperate to hang on to what was once there. The author uses repetition of fire-related words to show how it has affected the person in this poem. The author is mourning the loss of this person's love while also acknowledging that the ashes will never change back into that once-had fire.

    This is a good representation of the movement of the counterculture of the sixties because it shows how free love was given as a teenager (or person) yet so easily pulled away for someone else. It shows the free sexuality of the sixties, and how some felt when that love was pulled away with a breath. It's commenting on how sad the pulling away of love is, and the effect it has on the person it's being yanked away from. It shows how hurt someone can be, but it also shows how someone can eventually let go of those ashes. This can also have to do with the general relationships in  the sixties. People tended to be more sensitive and open in friendships, and other relationships. This poem explains how it feels when any type of relationship falls to pieces.