Dust If You Must, by Rose Milligan

There is a stretch along the Blue Spring walk that diverges from the water, where a lady named Linda M Pearce was laid to rest by a park bench under a great (redwood?) tree surrounded by the beautiful poem Dust If You Must by Rose Milligan engraved on bronzed plaques embedded into four huge rocks. These timeless verses elaborate in evocative poetic detail the importance of finding a balance between what seemingly “must” be done in life and all else that there is to experience in the world during the short years of one's time here.

Truly, words that we didn't even know yet - but which were surely inspired by the same wondering, non-conformist spirit as the very sabbatical tour that brought us here, to the wisdom in the woods. Words to live by, to reflect on from time to time - could hardly be better put - a fortuitous and uplifting encounter indeed. And it was Davy who, perhaps not fully understanding the nuances of the poem, but still appreciating its resonance with our journey, insisted on capturing the engraved verses in full.Read more