Francis Duggan Poems

At night in Kallista the wood of the white cockatoo
The powerful owl calls out in his mournful woo hoo
Where in the pale moonlight the giant mountain ash trees
Are soughing ever softly in the freshening breeze
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Some see my verses as dated as out of their time
And I seldom bother to polish my rhyme
The best years of my life to time have long gone
And I must be addictive to keep scribbling on.
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Since I've last seen them 21 years in time has gone
They soon will be forty the clock is ticking on
Married with children in Millstreet Parish Joan Cotter and Carmel Dinneen
It has been awhile now since they were nineteen.
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I can tell the difference between a finch and a crow
But few things about Nature I can claim to know
Yet learning of her creatures I thoroughly enjoy
And I've always loved her since I was a boy.
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On the Burwood Highway cars and trucks buzz up and down
Through Upwey and Tecoma and the main street of Belgrave Town
Those cars and trucks that seem to multiply
On the mountain roads of Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs as the years go by
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He does not have a good job or he does not bother to vote
And he is not seen as one worthy of note
But is there one better than him in the town
He is willing to help anyone poor and down.
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Don't judge me I'm not one that you do know
Just treat me as a would be friend not a potential foe
I am one who comes from a distant place
Though we all belong to the one human race
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I hear the monotonous cawings of the glossy pale eyed crow
And the sweet flute of the magpie where the Hopkins River flow
Through green and fertile coastal lands near Warrnambool to the sea
I love this grand old Country 'tis home from home for me
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He has been compared to Bango Paterson an Australian giant of the Wordsmith trade
Whoever said that about Greenwolfe a huge compliment to him has paid
But it truly can be said of Greeny that he's worthy of the accolade
For he is a poetic legend and 'tis true poets are born not made.
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It is such a put down word 'bogan' Aussie and Kiwi slang used to demonize
Poorly educated people from poorer suburbs seen as inferior in the self conceited eyes
If somebody refers to you as a bogan at such a reference you should take offence
As they are dismissing you as uncultured and in the ways of the World quite dense
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