There was a time we came and went.
The door between the gardens stood open,
rusting gently on it's hinges,
waiting for the time of closing

Wrought iron twists and scrolls
embellished with morning glory
and dandelions and grass,
growing through the metal lace.

But all things come to an end;
every door is eventually shut.
On a stormy summer evening,
carelessly rushing back and forth,

the door slammed shut.
I would not mind so much
(we still can talk through the grille,
Still I can see you at the fountain)

but when the door was shut,
in my haste (I didn't want to go),
my sleeve was caught on the latch
and my right hand is on the other side.

Chorus
Why won't you come out and play Susie
why won't you come outside
The sun shines bright on the knoll Susie
Why won't you come out and play


In the darkness the candle glows coloured
through the pieces of glass by the door
a welcome to strangers and neighbours and friends
to come in and rest for a while

You came past my house in the winter
I opened the door in the night
You came into my house when the wind blew cold
and danced in the firelight

Chorus

My mother made mugs of hot chocolate
my father sang songs of the war
my brother cracked jokes and the whole room laughed
and all the guests danced 'round the floor

Now the sun shines on the hill again
summer is back in the sky
and the guests travel on to the midsummer revels
But 'tis long since you said goodbye

Chorus

Bitter words hastened your leaving
When spring was beginning to show
and the door slammed hard on the sunshine
and shattered the glass in the wall.

And now there's no joy in the dancing
No mirth in the usual jests
I will sweep up the last shards of beauty
and bury it there with the rest.

ESET NOD 32 Antivirus.  The best antivirus going.

So.  As most of you know I'm moving.  Soon the little House Behind The Church will be the place to find me.  And as this is my first ever house-of-my-very-own, I am having loads of fun planning it... I change my mind regularly of course, but, this being me, some of the ideas are a little off the wall.  My latest flash of brilliance was regarding the music room. (Known to most people as a living room, but since I don't intend to own the television that is the normal centre of such a space I decided to make it a music room, which is what I really want it to be anyway.)  Its going to be green.  All sorts of shades of green.  Think overwhelming West Coast rainforest kind of green.  And in the process of looking for green things, I found some interesting ideas... some of which I agree with, some of which I don't, but these are the ones I wanted to look at again:

Binary Solo: zero zero zero zero zero zero one, zero zero zero zero zero zero one one 

The Amazing Poet-Bot

Credenda/Agenda: a webzine (and print magazine) about issues relating to Reformed Theology... also one of the best reads around.  I should have put this one up years ago. I definitely don't agree with all of their opinions, but they are so beautifully opinionated about things!!!! The people who write for this magazine think, and say what they think, and defend what they think.  I love it when people can challenge my ideas, or bring up new ones that I haven't thought about yet. And they're intelligently funny, just as an added bonus.   

Who could help but love a periodical in which the first quote (from the current edition) is "Scholars, please. No kissing in the library."????

Or one which would post the following Notice (in the Cave of Adullam column, though you'll you'll have to read the pdf versions to find the recent editions of it):
Important Notice
In a rare serious Cave postscript, we would like briefly to comment on our moderate use of sarcasm on this page. It has perhaps appeared to some readers that our sarcasm is not really Christ-like. We do agree with this criticism, believing ourselves not to be nearly as good at it as He was.

And while I can't seem to find my favourite Similitudes story about the man who finds himself on a hill with a shovel in his hand, this one is also a good one... Footprints, by Douglas Wilson.\

But really... just go read it.  You'll be glad you did... or annoyed... or something... but it won't be boring.