Walt Whitman wrote a poem entitled When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d .  It was written in a time of great unrest in our country.  The poem describes his feelings after the assassination of President Lincoln.

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One part of the poem has always struck me.  Through the darkness of the poem, he switches gears and talks about the lilac in the dooryard blooming and for this brief moment, I find myself filled with hope again.

I can remember, growing up on a farm in NE Iowa, we had two large lilac bushes that grew right next to the swing where I would spend my afternoons.  I can still remember the sweet smell and the anticipation I would feel when the lilac were getting ready to bloom.  I can remember my mother cutting large bouquets of lilac to fill the mason jar she used as a vase, and how excited I would feel sitting down to dinner that night to a table with fresh flowers.

“In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,

Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,

With many a pointed blossom rising, delicate, with the perfume strong I love,

With every leaf a miracle-and from this bush in the dooryard,

With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,

A sprig with its flower I break.”

I admit that the first time I read this poem, I had to stop and lookup the word “dooryard”.  What is a dooryard?  It’s really an archaic term that you don’t see a lot these days, but it refers to a small garden or yard that lays adjacent to the front door.

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Isn’t that what we all want today?  No one wants to walk up to a home with a sterile, cold, front door that looks like every other front door out there.  You want your door to be a warm, inviting place that draws people in.  Doors by Decora recognizes that.  In fact, we’ve built our business around it.  We work closely with you to help you design the door of your dreams.

Because we realize that while the dooryard defines the feel of your house, the most important part of that word is “door”, and we know doors.  If you haven’t taken a minute to visit our website, please do so.  You will find many examples of doors that we have designed and built.  You can get there by clicking here.  If you have some extra time, leave a comment and tell us about your dooryard or send us a photo.  We’d love to be invited in.

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If you’d like to read more Reflections From The Dooryard, be sure to follow our blog.  We look forward to hearing from you.

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