Francis Duggan Poems

A surly bloke in his forties with few words to say
You won't see him smile on the sunniest day
His only offspring a daughter living in a town far away
And his wife with another with him did not stay
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She left me for one she loves better on what was I ought not to dwell
I love her but true loves does go both ways and in her new life I do wish her well
I see her in the Townpark lately with her new love walking hand in hand
They did not see me to my relief you who have never been rejected in love could not understand
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I am only months short of my sixty third year
And I only cling to life because death I do fear
Never been a soldier or known to be brave
And the Last Post will never be played at my grave.
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He forgave those who sinned against him with a grudge he could not live
A credit to Humanity is the man who can forgive
Great compassion and empathy for others he does show
The legend of Mandela through the centuries will grow
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You must try to feel happy to make your life worthwhile
And though you may feel you've no reason to smile
For the hard knocks of life have been getting you down
Few do wish to know the sad sack of the town
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Do you sometimes wonder what life's all about
And your worth as a person do you often doubt?
You are not alone in feeling this way
Just one of the millions in the World of today.
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In rhyme and song and ballad I have praised
Old Claraghatlea where I was born and raised
Some of the old fields there have their own name
Though time brings change I'm sure they'd look the same
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Birds and arboreal animals need every bush and tree
When their homes are destroyed by humans they must fight for a new territory
And if in securing new homes they are unsuccessful they become homeless and slowly die
I speak a fact of Nature and Nature does not lie.
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In these times of economic downturn jobs have never been so few
And stories of financial hardship one can say are not new
And the gap between the rich and poor has never been so wide
Not surprising so many do feel they do not have God on side
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The old man who loves life may have lost his sexual drive
But he never does lose his great will to survive
His better days may have been in decades long gone
But even on his death-bed he wants to live on.
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