The notation of the “ladder of light” (Line 18) is a literal description of how “dust climbs” (Line 18) a bright beam of sunshine, seeming to swirl upward. This clearcut description however may also symbolically suggest humanity’s ascent to a spiritual realm. Many religious people refer to the image of the “ladder of light” (Line 18) to signify a luminous stairway that allows man to ascend to Heaven. This image is taken from the dream the Biblical figure of Jacob has of his ascension to Heaven via such a ladder in Genesis 28: 10-22. The ascension is contingent on the lessons learned in life, which have ideally brought one closer to God, or a spiritual presence. In “Dusting,” the speaker may be alluding to the evolution from the “winged protozoans” (Line 4) mentioned earlier in the poem. The speaker’s ability to bless the mundane nature of dirt, noting its essential connection to all of life “from equator to pole” (Line 15), allows for spiritual illumination as the “infinite” (Line 5) and “eternal” (Line 20) are grasped.

In the Biblical book Genesis 3:19, God explains to Adam that, on his exit from Eden, he will eventually return to the clay from which he was made.