Francis Duggan Poems

A migrant in this land is all i can wish to be
And time it would have made a stranger of me
Far north in Claraghatlea west of Millstreet Town
Where i used to live when my hair was dark brown
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In the gray of a November twilight the weather is windy and dry
A golden billed male blackbird is singing as darkness is crossing the sky
In a voice that cannot be mistaken and is always a joy for to hear
The beautiful dark feathered minstrel who sings in the Spring of the year
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Since eventually we all do run out of time
For every rhymer there will be a last rhyme
Our biological clocks are ever ticking away
And for all of us there is a last night and day
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In the grayness of a chilly November Dawn
The salmon are swimming up current to spawn
Of the Duhallow rivers as the flood does subside
The will to breed in them cannot be denied
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An Australian aid worker a compassionate, kind and caring woman
Taken hostage for money by criminal bandits in Afghanistan
Just one more despicable crime against humanity
How worrying and sad for her family and friends this must be
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On Summer evenings in the Millstreet Town Park many decades ago
Long before time it did become my foe
With friends i often played Soccer and Gaelic football
Though at either game i was of no use at all
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My yearning for knowledge only does seem to grow
But the more i do learn the more i realize so little i do know
About anything but as the wise one does say
We learn as we live till our last night and day
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Life is not always great for those on the summit of renown
Those who create heroes and heroines can also drag their idols down
For the wealthy and famous their lives not their own
The price they do pay for becoming widely known
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One can say of him that he was known far and wide
Far beyond his Hometown in the green countryside
There was a huge crowd of people at his funeral today
And peace does abide where at peace he now lay
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When they tell us who we should trust or not trust they are seeking our votes this is obviously clear
And for this we elect them to govern us the peddlers of fear
They convince us that we are the honorable, the noble and just
And those they do not like are unworthy of our trust
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