From memories of a Gold Miner.

The old Ash Tray

What it once was, I sure didn’t know ,
But it’s something I was offered from a long time ago,

It was heavy and dirty and cold to the feel,
Had to be cast iron or maybe hard steel,

My wife said, “you crazy? you don’t know what it is?
And you’re gonna take it home just because it was his?”

I said . “Hon,it was what John used for an ol’ ash tray,
They couldn’t sell it, and were giving it away.

She said, ‘”You don’t smoke ,and it’s a black ugly hunk,
Whatta you gonna do with another piece of junk?”

Said , “I don’t know for certain, but I’ll put it somewhere.”
She laughingly said , “ In the back yard , you can bury it there.”

Hon ol’John was my ,very best friend ,
He wanted me to have it, a way back then,

But I had no home, just an old used, chevy,
The floors were all rotten ,and this things kinda heavy,

It was many years later , that I saw him once more ,
But old age had got him, and his memory was poor,

She said , “Hon I’m sorry, I know you loved John,
We’ll get a nice stand, to sit it upon.”

I said , No, this thing, don’t belong around folks ,
It’s dirty and smells, like cigarette smoke,

So I’m Gonna put it , by my work bench chair,
Then I can visit, and feel he is there,

I know it ain’t pretty , it’s an ugly ol’piece ,
But imagine him sitting there smoking ,----as he rests in peace .


Epilogue:

Many years later our life took a bad turn ,
But thankfully then we would finally learn,

John’s heavy ol’ashtray, so dirty and old,
Was fifty percent silver and fifty percent gold,

Copyright © 2017 tom leftwich