In The Land I Was Raised In Poem by Francis Duggan

In the Land I was raised in so many were poor
And most of the population financially insecure
But people were happy though times they were tough
And we had food, clothing and shelter and that for us enough.

Of the Land I was raised in nowadays great stories I hear
The economy is booming or so 'twould appear
But where have the poor gone to I would like to know
For progress there always is some price to show?

The Land I was raised in so green in the Spring
And on the hedge by the roadway the dunnock did sing
The little brown bird to the Reaper long gone
But despite habitat destruction does his descendants live on

In the Land I was raised in with joy I recall
The nest of the great tits in the hole in the stone wall
The young birds were chirping for food all the day
And the hawthorns looked lovely in their white flowers of May.

In the Land I was raised in and where I first saw light of day
The gray crows familiar in their cloaks of black and gray
The birds the sheep farmers had grown to detest
High on the beech tree in April they built their stick nest.

To the land I was raised in the Seasons come and go
And not many there now of me even would know
For seven months of the year the weather wet and cold
But the economy is booming so I have been told.