Francis Duggan Poems

I have seen many things in my six decades of years
I have seen women weep seen macho men in tears
But the strangest thing that I ever did see
Is this tall powerful young bloke in his life's prime twenty three
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For me it has not been a good penning day
The lady of rhyme from me seems far away
The cold winds of Winter blow up from the bay
And the rhymes don't come to me that's life some might say
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Life's not meant to be easy as George Bernard Shaw used to say
Though for many 'tis so for some 'tis not that way
To those born to very wealthy parents such words do not apply
That your circumstance of birth plays a huge part in your life none ought to deny
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If you cannot say something good about another person say nothing at all
Those wise words are worthy quite worthy of recall
Though I amongst many such a pearl of wisdom ignore
Enlightenment to my mind does find a closed door
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In my walks in Nature great beauty I've seen
Like bluebells in bloom on the ditch of bohreen
When hawthorns were in their white blooms of the May
And nesting birds sung in the woods far away.
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Around his bed his friends and family but of them he's not aware
His life's journey about to end old Joe the ex footballer player
On his back his eyes closed to his surroundings the life from him ebbing away
Last month he celebrated his eightieth birthday and today his life's final day.
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The nesting birds sing in Sliabh Luachra in the leafy groves of Lisheen
And Nature's flowers bloom in the old fields and everywhere looking so lush and green
And the sheep are high on the Pap Mountains overlooking the small fields of Shrone
And the lark in the gray sky is singing above where the bracken cloaks many a stone
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In ten years from now I will be an old man
But I'll carry on rhyming for as long as I can
And though some tell me perhaps I should call it a day
I do hope to never give rhyming away
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Lucky are those with the gift of compassion for others they genuinely do care
The people who rise above the ordinary though sad to say their type are rare
they do not seek power over others they do their good deeds every day
And for to help those who are in need of help they always go out of their way
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Not everyone as we know can be the best
And some are found to be wanting when put to the test
But do not allow your lack of success sleep of you deny
The best you can do is give it your best try
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