Francis Duggan Poems

This evening at dusk i heard a blackbird sing
The sound of his flute is a beautiful thing
It took me to places from here far away
When his kin bird sang sweetly in April and May,
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The fruits of your life have gone to poor seed
And others say of you that you have failed to succeed
But the praise or the scorn of others you don't need
For your life alone it is your's for to lead
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He should be one worthy of literary note
Yet he has become a near forgotten poet
One of those who deserve a greater renown
Thomas Caulfield Irwin from Warrenpoint County Down
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The winners write the war history or so it has been said
And though they may have their celebrations they cannot bring back the dead
For the dead are gone forever in eternal rest they lay
And in war winners are losers despite what some do think or say,
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A man from Gneeveguilla the years have left him gray
From Sliabh Luachra in East Kerry he lives so far away
He has been in Australia since nineteen sixty four
Far distant from the byroad to the border Town Rathmore.
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A few days left in August a few days from the Spring
This evening in the gloaming i heard the blackbird sing
He whistled as the sun went down somewhere on a nearby tree
His song so recognizable though him i did not see.
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Did you ever feel disappointed to find your best not good enough
Yet you did keep on persevering though you found the going rather tough
But your doubters you are determined to prove wrong you will not quit after one failed try
At least you do prove you have courage and that of you none can deny,
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Lessons were not learned from Vietnam and Iraq's the latest story
Yet how can some men learn from war when through war they seek their glory
Another war victory parade the flags and banners flying
And those who do cry out for peace in vain are only crying.
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The magpie on the gum tree pipes his melodious air
And the great beauty of Nature surrounds me everywhere
The nearest place to utopia of i will ever know
My love for Mother Nature it only seems to grow,
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At this stage of my existence i do not need an enemy
To be a better person is all i wish to be
What i dislike in others in my own self i see
My better days behind me old age ahead of me.
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