Francis Duggan Poems

For years he lived with his wife Peg where they raised their son John and daughter Peg in Millstreet Town's Minor Row
A down to earth quiet fellow though many of him did know
A family man devoted to his family and to his wife
Arthur O' Keeffe lived in Millstreet Town all of his life
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Of any personal successes in life i do not have any stories to tell
One of those some dismiss as a never do well
The sort of rhymes i do write for money nowadays one cannot sell
The poets write their poetry and i pen doggerel
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You have told me so often of how marvelous you are
And of the size of your house and the size of your car
And of your wonderful children and your beautiful wife
And of your amazing job and your successful life
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To live a good life one must give to receive
A strong link to Karma on which i do believe
On saying in life it is true we do reap what we sow
Am i telling you what you already know?
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Like many my life journey began elsewhere
And i went to see some of the big World out there
But despite the words of the song it is not a small World after all
The World that we live in it is far from small
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A wonderful memory from the calm of the night
Of a magpie warbling in the moonlight
The beautiful voice quite distinctive and clear
Of a bird whose kind does sing at all times of the year
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Of it the poets do write and the singers of it do sing
The great gift of love is a wonderful thing
But the ending of love can cause shedding of tears
And the grief of lost love it can linger for years
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Late Spring and Summer ahead and many warm days
And already in New South Wales the bush fires do blaze
Three weeks from the calendar Summer and parts of New South Wales tinder dry
The bush fires grow fiercer as the years go by
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In fancy he can hear a silver back crow
Cawing on a birch tree near where Blackwater flow
In the flat lands of Duhallow on towards Mallow Town
Where he used to live when his hair was light brown
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Tomorrow will dawn and yesterday has gone
And life all around me as usual goes on
A magpie is warbling on a sunlit gum tree
A memory to cherish since the past stays with me
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