Of What Was Poem by Francis Duggan

Only memories of what was today i retain

Perhaps i will never climb Clara again

To gaze on the beauty that stretch far and wide

Across Duhallow and Sliabh Luachra's green countryside



Perhaps i will never more walk in the fields in the freshening winds of rain

In Early Spring when the breeding frogs are croaking in the waterful drain

Yet the mental images remain in me

Of my early lessons in Nature and of the what used to be



We all retain our fond memories of the past

For as long as our gift of memory with us does last

And our memories of our good experiences of Nature we love torecall

And they remain with us as our best memories of all



Perhaps i will never more hear a male robin sing

In a far away grove in the prime of the Spring

When the fields are looking resplendent in Nature's wildflowers

That have come to bloom in the recent mild showers



Only memories of what was are with me today

Of the hawthorns quite beautiful in their white blossoms of May

And hear the soft piping of the curlew just after sundown

In the fading light above a bog west of Millstreet Town.