WHITE walls and a shiny white door

White garden gate, white flowers galore.

White gables and a white chimney-stack,

Whilst at the front and round the back

White curtains hang at white window-frames -

Thus stands the house so strangely named.

There must be a reason, without a doubt,

For the colourful naming of the house.

It is known that the owner 'Mr B'

Dabbles a bit in astronomy.

Observing our own star the sun

And especially the spectrum.

His interest lies in the seven strands -

The rainbow colours in its band.

He studies it from red to violet

Yet a stripe of white is not in the line-up.

So white as a colour he insists

In the true sense it doesn't exist.

In his specific way he explains

The effect of sunrays on falling rain

And, on reflection, Mr B

Expresses it categorically.

All the hues in the spectrum, it appears

Combine to make white in the atmosphere.

Where he resides it is quite pleasing

It remains light until late evening.

Sunshine and showers fill him with delight -

But nothing clouds his views on white!

The rainbows that gladden Mr B's eyes,

Add a little colour to a lot of sky.

Updated: 11:18 Thursday, January 17, 2002