Francis Duggan Poems

Since the majority of the Australian population their army admire
They are quickly forgiven when an explosive test gone wrong starts a major fire
Like the huge bush fire at Lithgow that thousands of acres of countryside and a few homes destroyed
A blaze in which many animals wild and domesticated would have died
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Some say that the days of the rhymers are gone
But the rhymers as ever rhyming and rhyme will live on
Despite what the twenty first century literary dons of them do say
The rhymers are living and penning rhymes today
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At one hundred and four years of age Warrnambool's oldest person was buried today
In Tower Hill Cemetery Lottie Bowman's last remains at rest forever lay
She lived through two World wars and good and bad economic times knew
In the Human World centenarians are few
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Most of us in our ways look at life differently
And you in your thinking quite different to me
And with little in common on few things we agree
But then if we all agreed on all things how boring we would be
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The people i look on as quite ordinary
Will only say how ordinary i am when talking of me
What we dislike in others in ourselves we do see
At least anyhow this is how it seems to be
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A paper deed by law may give you a legal claim to property and land
And this in itself is not hard to understand
But when you say you own land i feel you have it wrong
For how can one own to what one does belong?
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Where i used to live when my hair was dark brown
Claraghatlea a mile by road west of Millstreet Town
But the passing of time has left me balder and gray
And to many there i would be a stranger today
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I have loved Mother Nature since i was a boy
And learning of her ways today i enjoy
And my wonder of her only does seem to grow
Yet so little about her i can claim to know
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Flowing bank high in the flat fields near Macroom Town
Old River Sullane in flood waters of brown
Swollen from heavy flow of storm waters of every rill and drain
That flow full of brown water from recent rain
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The praises of people with heaps of money i always feel reluctant to sing
Except the few who with their money some joy to poor people does bring
But sad to say compassionate and generous wealthy people are only in the few
On saying this i am not saying anything that is new
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