Zen Of Housework

It is a fact of life that everyone will need to do housework, even if there are a million other things they would rather be doing. For some people, it seems to be a miserable or tedious endeavor. Perhaps it would be more enjoyable thinking about housework as an opportunity to lose us in another new world. “The Zen of Housework” by Al Zolynas is a wonderful poem about finding the sacred in those most ordinary tasks. Seeing the kind of sacred in Al’s housecleaning also requires a great sense of humor. The poem captures the moment of the author’s dishwashing to be the most enjoyable and extraordinary moment in life. The title of the poem, “The Zen of Housework” also suggests a degree of meaning. The word “Zen” always relates to a peaceful …show more content…
There are his “pink rubber gloves” and “dinner dishes” that reflect his action at the moment. There is “the window above the sink,” the sun, the sparrows, and the branches. He also ingeniously describes the droplets. “They sway, changing directions constantly – like a school of playful fish.” There is also the sheer curtain leading to another world. Al Zolynas makes the short moment of washing dishes become more vivid. Everything surroundings has their own action, their own moments. Moreover, the way of looking out the window reminds me a lot about meditation, when we try to feel the surroundings using our six senses, when we have an insight into nature and when we can enjoy every single thing around us. The great things about the poem are not the actions and the scene themselves, but the author’s imagination that inspires the …show more content…
There are many verbs such as “moiling”, “domesticity”, and “mundane,” those are hidden references to doing housework. Perhaps doing housework is not an easy job to do. The word “moiling” creates a negative feeling toward dish washing. This is the beginning of every housework chores. They all create a dull feeling at first. However, Al Zolynas has creatively turned the task into something more artistic, “It breaks the surface like a chalice rising from a medieval lake” or “Full of the grey wine of domesticity, the glass floats to the level of my eyes”. Al makes the readers feel that he is enjoying something, not doing anything. The wine glass is full of grey liquid, maybe because it is filled with dirty water from the sink full of dinner dishes. But for Al Zolynas, it is a beauty of nature. He uses the words “chalice”, “goblet” for his wine glass, making it more sacred, more mystery and therefore more unique. The glass rising from the “medieval lake,” we can even feel that it is shinning vividly. The word “grey” makes us think about old and earthy. However, the word “wine” reminds us of a delicious drink that give a highly pleasant to taste. Al Zolynas repeatedly using “grey wine” give the reader some special feeling. Although it is grey, it is just a normal liquid, normal thing, it still can bring out a delectable pleasant to taste. Everything quickly turns from ordinary to extraordinary, to another