I Don’t Believe in Drudgery

I do believe in hard work,
and in the luminous beauty
of ordinariness.
Plodding labor
can be meditative, centering.
Just because your hands
are in the dishwater,
doesn’t mean your mind needs to be.
I believe we choose to let something
be dull, drab, tedious, or boring.
Grays can be beautiful, after all,
highlighting better
those pure pops of color
we all live for and dearly love.
We can watch our days
like the walls around us do,
with abiding anticipation,
curiosity, and objective surprise
as opportunities unfold.
There can be a stillness
within routine motions,
like how swimming laps
can deepen and cloister
consciousness and reverie.
Thoughts can plunge,
surge forward,
skip, fly, twist, or settle,
all while we do other things.
Trudging and toiling
up a mountain of chores
is a celebration released from
procrastination and inertia,
with relief and achievement
conquering and victorious,
one blessed step at a time.
Delight in
the peaceful clatter
of a job well done,
minutia dealt with,
and your satisfaction escalating.
No, I don’t believe in drudgery,
because I allow joy
to take over
instead.

by Polly Castor
9/19/25