The poem below is a new discovery for me. I came across it on Facebook a few days ago and was fascinated by the insights that the poet, Rose Milligan, was able to present in these four stanzas. I was curious to find out who she was but there wasn’t a plethora of information available on her.
Dust If You Must
Dust if you must.
But wouldn’t it be better,
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed?
Ponder the difference between want and need.
Dust if you must.
But there is not much time
With rivers to swim and mountains to climb!
Music to hear, and books to read,
Friends to cherish and life to lead.
Dust if you must.
But the world’s out there
With the sun in your eyes,
the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come round again.
Dust if you must.
But bear in mind,
Old age will come and it’s not kind.
And when you go, and go you must,
You, yourself, will make more dust.
– – – written by Mrs. Rose Milligan
Only a woman would write a poem like this, I thought. As a woman myself and having done my share of dusting, sweeping, mopping, and all the other household tasks necessary to keep a house clean, this poem is refreshing. I think it should be recommended reading in Women’s Studies groups everywhere.
It’s so easy to get bogged down by housework and the responsibilities of house and home. Throughout the poem, we are being told of all the wonderful experiences and opportunities in living that we ought not to miss out on by spending lots of time on what is extraneous. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
Many people have read books like “The Power of Now” extolling the virtues of living in the present and whether Rose Milligan read books like these or not is not something that I know. However, she certainly understands that the time to live is “now.” Rose Milligan realized and penned beautifully, especially for us women, the importance of enjoying one’s life while one is able to. Old age does come and one does return to dust.
Words of wisdom from a woman whose bio is hard to find! I can’t help thinking that she herself may have been bogged down with housework or saw her mother or grandmother this way and decided to impart these words to the wise. Take the learning from this and enjoy all the precious moments – let the dusting wait sometimes. Life is too short.
To bring this post to a close, there’s another poem that is all about travelling lightly on our journey through life – also by a woman. She was very close to the end of her life when she wrote this and there is some wisdom to be gained here from reading this. There’s certainly more to life than dusting and housework.
I’d Pick More Daisies
If I had my life to live over,
I’d try to make more mistakes next time.
I would relax.
I would limber up.
I would ber sillier than I have been on this trip.
I know of very few things I would take seriously.
I would be crazier.
I would be less hygienic.
I would take more chances.
I would take more trips.
I would climb more mountains,
swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets.
I would burn more gasoline.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would have more actual troubles and fewer
imaginary ones.
You see, I am one of those people who lives
prophylactically and sensibly and sanely,
hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I’ve had my moments and,
if I had it to do over, I’d have
more of them.
In fact, I’d try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after the other,
instead of living so many years ahead
each day.
I have been one of those people who never goes
anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water
bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I had it to do over again, I would go places
and do things and travel lighter than I have.
If I had my life to live over, I would start
bare-footed earlier in the spring and stay
that way later in the fall.
I would play hookey more.
I wouldn’t make such good grades except by
accident.
I would ride on more merry-go-rounds.
I’d pick more daisies.
Nadine Stair, 87
Louisville, Kentucky
