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’s 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 around 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!
***
I read somewhere that travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. Fresh back from the Americas, I know what that means. And I know what Rose Milligan might have been thinking of when she scribbled the above lines.
Perfect little verse for my jet-lagged body and slightly numb mind. With no disrespect to my cleanliness OCD, as well.