Dusting

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1994

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Gratitude for the Everyday Moment

It is easy to feel gratitude when one receives something special or achieves a milestone. Being grateful for redundant daily activity, however, is much harder. This is particularly true if one feels small or isolated. One way to assist oneself in feeling grateful is to look outside of the self. If one can find something of interest in the immediate, surrounding world, and become a part of it, peacefulness will increase. This activity encourages a state of being present in the moment. A short cut to achieving this meditative state is to look for a marker that one is not alone in the universe. In quiet contemplation, it is common to realize one is a part of something greater than the self. Nelson’s speaker, engaged with the “infernal, endless chore” (Line 19) of dusting, realizes that they can be grateful for the tedious act because it has a purpose, which connects to making the world a better place. As the speaker concentrates, they realize a full picture of “dust’s” (Lines 18, 21) many beauties and benefits. First, the speaker describes its motes as magical treasure—its “intricate shapes” (Line 6) contain multitudes. Second, some of the motes are “spores” (Lines 9, 10) that through “mutual genetic cooperation” (Line 12) help things grow all over the globe. Third, this brings the speaker closer to God, or the heavenly, as indicated by the “ladder of light” (Line 18). This close inspection allows the speaker to begin to connect with the specks themselves. In dusting, they become not an eradicator of dirt, but someone who helps “eternal seeds of rain” (Line 20) nourish the earth. The speaker offers the reader an example of how to be present in the moment, and really see the potential for the teeming life in the smallest “particles” (Line 2).

Mundane Cooperation as Power

The idea that something must be singularly large and flamboyant to have an impact is a common misconception. While large things may indeed have this impact, Nelson’s poem attempts to show that power can also exist in even the most mundane events or items. The speaker’s meditation on the significance of what is “submicroscopic” (Line 7)—whether a “protozoan” (Line 4), a “spore” (Lines 9, 10), or “seeds of rain” (Line 20)—is crucial in conveying how the smallest item may be elevated to the essential. The speaker points out that without the motes of “dust” (Line 18) the speaker kicks up in cleaning, there would be no photosynthesis nor nourishment in the form of “rain” (Line 20). The very small “chore” (Line 19) actually contributes in a crucial way to nature’s larger plan. The speaker then is “cooperat[ing] ” (Line 12) in scientific processes to help the world thrive. This serves as a metaphor for the fact that no matter how small or insignificant a person may seem or how miniscule their contribution may be, perhaps by just cleaning their house, they may still play a part in the larger scheme.

Beautiful Dirt

“Dusting” shows that it is important to recognize beauty, even when it exists in the most unlikely spaces. While the “chore” (Line 19) of dusting is not a pleasant task—the speaker calls it “infernal, endless” (Line 19)—the speaker reminds themselves it is valuable. “Dust” (Lines 18, 21) holds some of the beauty of the world within it and is also the cause of some awe-inspiring processes. The speaker is taken with the “cooperation” (Line 12) that “these tiny / particles” (Lines 1-2) can provide in their symbiotic relationships, noting particularly the “inseparable” (Line 14) nature of the interconnectedness between “algae” (Line 9) and “fungus” (Line 10). Further, something as minor as “dust” (Line 18), which most would likely compare to mere dirt, can come from the “ocean” (Line 2), can be akin to “pearl[s]” (Line 3), or be “winged” (Line 4) in angelic fashion. It can even float up “the ladder of light” (Line 18) in “intricate shapes” (Line 6), an image that suggests a holiness that contrasts with the seemingly hellish or “infernal” (Line 19) repetitive action of removing the mess. The never-ending nature of the task is constantly contrasted with its secret “vital” (Line 11) and life-affirming results. Ironically, inherent in the dirty task is a sense of fruitfulness or bounty.