17 pages • 34 minutes read
Dusting
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Symbols & Motifs
Ladder of Light
The notation of the “ladder of light” (Line 18) is a literal description of how “dust climbs” (Line 18) a bright beam of sunshine, seeming to swirl upward. This clearcut description however may also symbolically suggest humanity’s ascent to a spiritual realm. Many religious people refer to the image of the “ladder of light” (Line 18) to signify a luminous stairway that allows man to ascend to Heaven. This image is taken from the dream the Biblical figure of Jacob has of his ascension to Heaven via such a ladder in Genesis 28: 10-22. The ascension is contingent on the lessons learned in life, which have ideally brought one closer to God, or a spiritual presence. In “Dusting,” the speaker may be alluding to the evolution from the “winged protozoans” (Line 4) mentioned earlier in the poem. The speaker’s ability to bless the mundane nature of dirt, noting its essential connection to all of life “from equator to pole” (Line 15), allows for spiritual illumination as the “infinite” (Line 5) and “eternal” (Line 20) are grasped.
Dust
In the Biblical book Genesis 3:19, God explains to Adam that, on his exit from Eden, he will eventually return to the clay from which he was made. In other words, now mortal, he will die. From this biblical story comes the phrase “dust unto dust,” which denotes the circularity of human life. Although Nelson does not have her speaker use this exact phrasing, the symbolic image of “dust” (Lines 18, 21) in the activity of dusting as well as the circular motion of the activity adds to the poem’s themes of continuity and eternity. At the end of the poem, the speaker moving around specks of dirt causes them to float upwards to gather in the sky as “eternal seeds of rain” (20). This implies precipitation that will fall to earth, nourishing the very “spores” (Lines 9, 10) that are “submicroscopic,” and starting the whole process again. By praising “particles” (Line 2) that aid in cyclical biological processes like photosynthesis and the creation of “rain” (Line 20), the speaker sets up a feeling of gratitude for the cycles of humanity. Existence moves from creation, to being swept in circles, to a possible afterlife, represented by how “dust climbs ladder of light” (Line 18) to the sky where it will come down again in the form of nourishment. By saying “thank you” (Lines 1, 21) for “dust” (Lines 18, 21), the speaker is also praising the “eternal” (Line 20) qualities of humankind as well as religious faith.
Submicroscopic Shapes
As the speaker points out, within the dusty coating on your bookshelf, there may lie the “intricate shapes / of submicroscopic / living things” (Lines 6-8). While the instinct is to wipe these particles away, seeing it only as dirt, the speaker is calling attention to the fact that there are worlds within worlds beyond humanity’s perception. This refers directly to the invisible “particles of ocean salt” (Line 2), the “viruses” (Line 3), “protozoans” (Line 4), and “spores” (Lines 9, 10), all lying in the “dust” (Lines 18, 21). Symbolically, however, it suggests that people, too, might be unseen by the eye of a greater being—or hold within themselves parts that they cannot show. Just as the “submicroscopic” (Line 7) are hidden, so may the “macroscopic” eye of God be blind to humanity, just as a person might not outwardly reveal all their own beautiful “intricacies” (Line 6). In this way, the speaker suggests, our special differences unify us. Everyone is deserving of a “ladder of light” (Line 18) to “climb” (Line 18), and everyone is deserving of rebirth in the form of “eternal seeds” (Line 20) that can bloom into clouds.
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