--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: all people start to come apart finally…" description: "\"“all people start to come apart finally and there it is: just empty ashtrays in a room or wisps of hair on a comb in the dissolving moonlight.”\" — Char..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg" --- # all people start to come apart finally and there it is… ![“all people start to come apart finally and there it is: just empty ashtrays in a room or wisps of hair on a comb in the dissolving moonlight.” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg) > ““all people start to come apart finally and there it is: just empty ashtrays in a room or wisps of hair on a comb in the dissolving moonlight.”” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s inevitable decay leaves only emptiness and fleeting remnants. **In simple terms:** Life ends in emptiness. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence. Themes mortality loneliness decay Mood melancholic reflective Type literary poetic When to use this quote - grief - reflection - artistic expression Key Concepts existentialism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning amid inevitable loss? - What comforts you when confronting emptiness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apart Finally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apart-finally-1264206/) [Ashtrays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashtrays/) [Ashtrays Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashtrays-room-2985257/) [Charles-bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charles-bukowski/) [Come Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-apart-861330/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Just Ashtrays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-ashtrays-2985256/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Quote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quote/) [Through](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/through/) [Through the looking glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/through-the-looking-glass/) ## Related quotes > [This is how I break apart when I finally hit the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red/this-is-how-i-break-apart-when-i-finally-hit-the-ground/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Sometimes things are just what they seem to be and that's all there is to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-things-are-just-what-they-seem-to-be-and-that-s-all-there/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts while the stupid one are full of confidence".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-the-intelligent-people-are-full-of/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Mëso të mos e shkatërrosh me fjalë atë çfarë ke ndërtuar me heshtje.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/m-so-t-mos-e-shkat-rrosh-me-fjal-at-far-ke-nd-rtuar-me-heshtje/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“A mí cada vez que alguien me hablaba me entraban ganas de tirarme por la ventana o de escapar en el ascensor. La gente,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/a-m-cada-vez-que-alguien-me-hablaba-me-entraban-ganas-de-tirarme-por/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“A i urreni njerëzit? Unë nuk i urrej ata ... Unë vetëm ndjehen mirë kur ata nuk janë përreth. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/a-i-urreni-njer-zit-un-nuk-i-urrej-ata-un-vet-m-ndjehen-mir-kur-ata/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I'm fucking the grave, I thought, I'm bringing the dead back to life...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-m-fucking-the-grave-i-thought-i-m-bringing-the-dead-back-to-life/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I do think that poetry is important though, if you don’t strive at it, if you don’t fill it full of stars and falseness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-do-think-that-poetry-is-important-though-if-you-don-t-strive-at-it/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Tell him to seek the stars and he will kill himself with climbing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/tell-him-to-seek-the-stars-and-he-will-kill-himself-with-climbing/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“all theories like cliches shot to hell, all these small faces looking up beautiful and believing; I wish to weep but sorrow is stupid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/all-theories-like-cliches-shot-to-hell-all-these-small-faces-looking/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Love is not a candle burning down. Life is. And love and life are not the same or else Love, having choice, nobody would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/love-is-not-a-candle-burning-down-life-is-and-love-and-life-are-not/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“a pro does as well as he can within what he has set out to do and a madman does exceptionally well at what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/a-pro-does-as-well-as-he-can-within-what-he-has-set-out-to-do-and-a/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“peace of mind and heart arrives when we accept what is: having been born into this strange life we must accept the wasted gamble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/peace-of-mind-and-heart-arrives-when-we-accept-what-is-having-been/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the best part was pulling down the shades stuffing the doorbell with rags putting the phone in the refrigerator and going to bed for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-best-part-was-pulling-down-the-shades-stuffing-the-doorbell-with/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More by Charles Bukowski > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More Ashtrays quotes > [You know Kim Jong Un, the evil dictator of North Korea? Apparently, a guy in his inner circle used his ashtray while smoking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/you-know-kim-jong-un-the-evil-dictator-of-north-korea-apparently-a/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/kissing-a-smoker-is-like-licking-an-ashtray/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [The sky was so clear that the starlight cast shadows, and so many sparkles and glitters and glints appeared above us that it looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-sky-was-so-clear-that-the-starlight-cast-shadows-and-so-many/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [ Writing a play is like smashing that \[glass\] ashtray, filming it in slow motion, and then running the film in reverse, so that the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/writing-a-play-is-like-smashing-that-glass-ashtray-filming-it-in-slow/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [British scientists have demonstrated that cigarettes can harm your children. Fair enough. Use an ashtray!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carr/british-scientists-have-demonstrated-that-cigarettes-can-harm-your/) [Jimmy Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carr/) > [Every time an ashtray is missing from a hotel, they don't come looking for you. But let a diamond bracelet disappear in France and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-hayes/every-time-an-ashtray-is-missing-from-a-hotel-they-don-t-come-looking/) [John Michael Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-hayes/) > [We were so poor; the ultimate luxury in our house at the time was ashtrays without advertisements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chic-murray/we-were-so-poor-the-ultimate-luxury-in-our-house-at-the-time-was/) [Chic Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chic-murray/) > [Grab something off the shelf that's on the spaceship-an ashtray, it doesn't matter what. Because I can tell you, if they flew here from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/grab-something-off-the-shelf-that-s-on-the-spaceship-an-ashtray-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've used soap dishes as ashtrays in the best hotels in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-waitt/i-ve-used-soap-dishes-as-ashtrays-in-the-best-hotels-in-the-world/) [Ted Waitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-waitt/) > [Let's try and create scenes that are about something... About something deeper than this ashtray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-de-maat/let-s-try-and-create-scenes-that-are-about-something-about-something/) [Martin de Maat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-de-maat/) > [Junior colleges are high schools with ashtrays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-carolla/junior-colleges-are-high-schools-with-ashtrays/) [Adam Carolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-carolla/) > [Hands, matches, an ashtray. A ritual beautiful and bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/hands-matches-an-ashtray-a-ritual-beautiful-and-bitter/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [I smoke too much whether it's going well or badly. After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-smoke-too-much-whether-it-s-going-well-or-badly-after-all-these/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There were moments ... when it seemed that all one could be asked was just to keep the ashtrays clean, the bed made, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-were-moments-when-it-seemed-that-all-one-could-be-asked-was/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Today I know that all things are watching, that nothing goes unseen, that even wallpaper has a better memory than human beings. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/today-i-know-that-all-things-are-watching-that-nothing-goes-unseen-2/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) [Browse all 30 Ashtrays quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashtrays/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“all people start to come apart finally and there it is: just empty ashtrays in a room or wisps of hair on a comb in the dissolving moonlight.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Bukowski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-and-there-it-is-just-empty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashtrays" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-and-there-it-is-just-empty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/charles-bukowski-73_ashtrays_all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-a_315503.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“all people start to come apart finally and there it is: just empty ashtrays in a room or wisps of hair on a…” — Charles Bukowski", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Bukowski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“all people start to come apart...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-and-there-it-is-just-empty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/all-people-start-to-come-apart-finally-and-there-it-is-just-empty/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```