Francis Duggan Poems

Amongst wealth and fame there is great poverty
With such things should not happen here most would agree
A poor homeless bloke with only a mattress for a bed
On the embankment under a railway underpass for six months lay dead.
...

He's never been found wanting when put to the test
At laying pipes Mick Kelleher is Victoria's best
The drainage contractors of his value do know
He makes some good pipe layers seem rather slow.
...

In the gloam of the evening as darkness cloaks the sky
I hear him softly whistling on a gum tree nearby
He is the famed grey shrike thrush he has a lovely song
Once heard you cannot mistake him you can never get him wrong
...

Though eventually more than their match they do find
Down with every bully and those that way inclined
By their bully tactics they should not have their way
The karma they sow they too must reap one day.
...

You cannot beat them they have God on their side
And to go with their God they have National pride
And of their National heroes they feel proud to sing
The lure of patriotism is a magnet like thing.
...

A Village on the cusp as some are known to say
Most of the young when finished school from the place move away
There is little here for to tempt them to stay
To them the Village on the cusp is a place of decay
...

In the twilight before darkness the sun has just gone down
The magpie he is singing in the parkland of the town
The white backed Australian magpie he has a flute like song
His voice is unmistakeable one cannot get him wrong
...

We help to create our successes or failures some say
And positive thinking can take us a long way
To achieve the success which we hope to achieve
It helps quite a bit if on self we believe
...

If to help others out you go out of your way
Then why should it matter what some of you do say
For people who judge others in their own ways quite small
And they do not believe on a fair go for all,
...

I thank lady luck she has been kind to me
But how many more Springs will i be privileged to see
And though my legs at their best they could never run fast
I know that my better days are in the past.
...