Why Members Leave

Did you make him feel welcome?
Did you hold out your hand?
Did you listen to his troubles?
With him, did you stand?

Are the secrets which you shared
Ones that will keep him coming back?
Or are they merely empty forms
And it’s brotherhood they lack?

Was there something for him to find
Here among his Brothers and friends?
Or did he look in vain
For those on whom he could depend?

Was this a place for him to shine
To be with others of like mind?
With true fellows of the craft,

Was that there for him to find?

If all these things are here
Nothing will keep him away.
If not, I doubt that anyone

Can persuade him to stay.

December 31, 2007