Old Claraghatlea I Have Not Seen For Somewhile Poem by Francis Duggan

Old Claraghatlea I have not seen for some-while
And between here and there many a sea and land mile
'Tis there the life journey for me it began
For 'tis there I was born and grew into a man.

The changes are happening there I have been told
A new generation and some growing old
Since I left that old Townland 21 years ago
When ageless old Clara wore his hat of snow.

From Claraghatlea I'm one who lives far away
Perhaps I would feel a stranger there today
But then the Old fields would not have changed at all
As they were and are them I often recall.

In Claraghatlea now a lovely time of year
The song of the robin melodious and clear
And the song of the dipper is heard in the rill
That babbles downland from the field by the hill.

In old Claraghatlea now Spring does spread her green
And wildflowers by hedgerows and in the fields to be seen
More than twenty one years in time has passed by
Since I last heard a lark sing in the Irish sky.