Early March In Duhallow Poem by Francis Duggan

The rain drizzling down from low clouds of gray
And cattle in farmyard sheds bellowing for silage or hay
Though buds on their branches deciduous trees have no leaves yet to display
The wild birds are not singing in Duhallow today
The Blackwater bank high in flood waters of brown
On it's long journey to the sea near Youghal flowing on towards Mallow Town
From it's source in the high country into a huge waterways it does grow
Swollen by streams and smaller rivers with a loud babble it does flow
The Boggeraghs half cloaked in the gray fogs of rain
And brown storm water flowing swiftly in every river, rill, stream and drain
Though the prime days of Spring to Duhallow are near
The weather there can be quite wet and windy in March of the year
The swallows not yet home from lands far away
And the sun may not shine on Duhallow today.