Francis Duggan Brother Poems

Big Brother he is always watching you
And nothing unbeknown to him you do
Of his attentions none of us are free
We never can escape his scrutiny.
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His ears are ever vigilant be careful of what you do say
Big Brother he is listening from you he's never far away
Your words he may put a slant on and one word in the wrong place
Could see you in deep trouble the court you might have to face.
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Humankind has come far in technology so very far 'twould seem
Back in the nineteen fifties of such achievements we dared not dream
In this age of the computer Big Brother reigns supreme
To him we have become as visible as fish in a clear pool of a sunlit stream.
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He left Ireland in nineteen fifty two
Our brother John the man I barely knew
He was the eldest of the family
And the Homeland he was never more to see.
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When brother fought brother the cause it was lost
The civil war in Ireland came at a huge cost
To people who already had seen too much bloodshed and tears
The bitterness of the civil war was to linger for years
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When brother fought brother the cause it was lost
The civil war in Ireland came at a huge cost
To people who already had seen too much bloodshed and tears
The bitterness of the civil war was to linger for years
...

The man who stand for human rights, freedom and justice
Is now in jail perhaps for a long stay
The authorities say he an an agitator
The only reason he is locked away.
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By a court of law judge you may not have been judged but you are judged by people every day
Big Brother's judges passing their judgements on you they never seem to fail to have their say
On you and your step on the social ladder they judge you by your influence in your money bank
And though money may be only made of paper it sure enough does give you social rank,
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We are being judged by others every day
The judgmental are many this is the human way
And Big Brother knows many things about you and i
His disciples will be watching us until the day we do die
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In nineteen fifty two my brother John in his late teens left Millstreet
New challenges in life he wished to meet
He was the eldest of our family
Perhaps a dozen years older than me
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You hang in there in life's battle though the going for you is tough
But to say the least you feel sad to know you are not good enough
To be rated by Big Brother as one who has achieved
For being a battler recognition as of yet you've not received
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If Big Brother's judgmental army dismiss you as a loser in this for you no shame
As long as you treat everyone as the same
And never harm anyone financially or physically to bring on yourself ill fame
Then you can feel proud you honor your good name
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A person i knew of but never did meet
He is right up there with the best of Millstreet
In Malaysia for decades helping those of helping in need
Brother Vincent Corkery was a great man indeed
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So many to become invisible without success have tried
From Big Brother's eyes there is nowhere to hide
His disciples tell him where you are night and day
From them you can never hope to hide away
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'Twould seem their duty as citizens is to pigeon hole others to say what social rank one to does belong
To them class distinction is a good thing in it they cannot see any wrong
They scoff at the idea of egalatarianism and in expressing their opinions on others are not shy
But if they so strongly believe in social rank then social rank too to them must apply.
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On the flag post above the National Monument the National flag in the winds wave
In honour of the National heroes the war dead and the brave,
The thing known as patriotism part of our National identity
On war memorial avenue a soldier's name is nailed to every tree.
...