Francis Duggan Poems

On a tree in a paddock near where old Merri flow
I hear the harsh cawing of a dark pale eyed crow
One of a corvid species that is widely known
It is true about crows they have ways of their own
...

If because of you the World to live in is a better place
And you meet the challenges of life with a smile on your face
And you help a poor person in need of helping without asking for pay
Of the good things we do in life we receive in good Karma one day
...

Since last i saw them twenty seven years gone by
But on looking back on the past time does seem to fly
Like me time would have left them looking older and gray
My friends of the past where might they be today?
...

Old Joe the ex shearer his hair silver gray
One who surely has known a far better day
In shearing sheds on the east side of the great Southern Land
Respect as a shearer he used to command
...

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
...

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
...

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
...

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?
...

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
...

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
...