Louisa May Alcott – A Song from the Suds

Song from the Suds was a playful childhood poem composed by Alcott, whose nature leaned towards the serious and solemn. It was featured in Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals (1889).
Her mother’s rules for her guidance, that she never lost sight of, were:

1. Rule yourself.
2. Love your neighbor.
3. Do the duty which lies nearest you.

Queen of my tub, I merrily sing,
While the white foam rises high,
And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring,
And fasten the clothes to dry;
Then out in the free fresh air they swing,
Under the sunny sky.

I wish we could wash from our hearts and our souls
The stains of the week away,
And let water and air by their magic make
Ourselves as pure as they;
Then on the earth there would be indeed
A glorious washing-day!

Along the path of a useful life
Will heart's-ease ever bloom;
The busy mind has no time to think
Of sorrow, or care, or gloom;
And anxious thoughts may be swept away
As we busily wield a broom.

I am glad a task to me is given
To labor at day by day;
For it brings me health, and strength, and hope,
And I cheerfully learn to say,–
"Head, you may think; heart, you may feel;
But hand, you shall work alway!"