Ashes to Ashes
An Abecedarian Poem
Ashes.
Blown in on baby’s breath.
Careening off tricycles and kindergarten walls
decorated with false promises of eternal innocence.
Enduring ashes.
Falling from billowing leaves as they struggle to hold on in the
gusting winds of my November storm.
Hail-beaten, screaming ashes.
Inspiring strength despite obvious fragility.
Justifiably obvious fragility.
Kisses breathe for tender ashes,
living in jars or on tabletops.
Memorializing moments of gentle breeze when
nimble minds held feeble hands.
Open to the endearing
possibility of forever after and never-ending stories.
Quintessential fantasies turned to ash and
returned to the soil from whence they came.
Surrendered souls laid to rest in
tombstoned memories of kindergarten walls, while
undulating,
vibrating
waves of sound hum through the
xylophones that play my final reprieve; as
yearning ashes, cloaked in smiles,
zealously dance macabre.
About the Creator
Cathy holmes
Canadian family girl with a recently discovered love for writing. Other loves include animals and sports.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Keep reading
More stories from Cathy holmes and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (55)
Brilliant. And I don't say that lightly. Loved your abecedarian!
Really inspirational 👏 Well deserved TS
I will never look at ashes the same again....a lifetime of flames
Wow. This is so beautiful and yet so macabre…I love it. Amazing work.
This is so beautiful - the abecedarian is almost imperceptible yet guides this moving poem. Gorgeous! 💗
Ohhhh… never read this one. Gets under skin! Well done Cathy! 😁
This is so good!
So incredibly done.
Very difficult to kill it on the last line when you have to start with a Z, yet here you are nailing it 😁
This is lovely and so creative you have a magic way of weaving words.
Very creative my friend. Not sure how I missed this before but congrats 🎉 on your top story 💕💕
Cathy this was a brilliant piece, I love the type of poem and the dark theme in which you set the scene of this piece! It was emotional and jarring, you played with the idea of darkness engulfing the innocence of human kind. It felt almost like a sermon read at someone's funeral, maybe a Childs? Or even something read after a tragedy that took place, something involving children. Which only feels more enforced by the idea of it being part of an Abecedarian style poem. I also see the Top Story badge, congratulations! I can see this was well earned! 🎉
This is one of my faves by you. Well done. I love the depth of emotions in this piece.
Absolutely stunning work Cathy! BRAVO!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Mind-blowing and macabre, what a stream of words, mixing the imagery of the nursery, graveyard, and war-zone. Congratulations on Top Story, well earned.
congrats on the Top Story
“yearning ashes, cloaked in smiles,” - DAMN
Wow, this is really powerful! Excellent work!
This...is magnificent! Top Story congratulations!
Wow, what a beautiful and emotional poem! You did a fantastic job utilizing every single letter to create a powerful story. Lovely work, Cathy! 💫 Congrats on top story!
Cathy, this is so lovely and dreamy and sad
Amazed by your work
Amazing!
Well done on this one Beautiful and moving Congratulations
Congratulations on your Top Story ❤️🎉😉