The poem moves through three short stages, each built on the same pattern: a few descriptive words, then two comparisons beginning with "like." The first stanza shows youth at its brightest. The speaker is carefree, innocent and bubbly, and the images of champagne and rainbows make life feel like a celebration, though the rainbows are something we only "reach" for, never quite hold.
The second stanza flips this completely. Now the speaker is isolated, hollow and shattered, compared to an outcast and to broken glass. The bright fizz of the first stanza seems to have gone flat, and the bluntness of the language makes the pain feel raw.
The final stanza is the trickiest. The Golden Gate and the Eiffel Tower suggest famous, glamorous places, yet they are called "tall and dangerous." Poison and a rose in a grave both describe something beautiful that is tied to harm or death. Judging by the title, "Golden Ashes," the poem seems to say that glittering dreams can burn down into emptiness. The mood is bittersweet and haunted.