Rhyme Of An Ordinary Man Poem by Francis Duggan

I cannot claim to be a poet for poets I know are few
And as a doggerelist and a rhymer I'm somewhere between the two
And my literary efforts have not even reached the critics scan
So let me live and let me die an ordinary man.

For years now I've dabbled in verse and for fame I've had a try
And as an unknown I still live and an unknown I'll die
I've written reams and reams of rhyme far more than I wish to recall
But better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all.

And I have feelings in my heart as much as anyone
And I can laugh and I can weep and I have a sense of fun
And the concept of an egalitarian society I openly embrace
And for racism and exclusion there ought not to be a place.

'A fair go for all' I like those words they have such a good ring
The poor old beggar of the street in some ways is a king
If he's not harmed anyone then let the poor bloke be
Don't judge him for his circumstance or for his poverty.

I'm just an ordinary man and way beyond my prime
And I have tried my hand at verse and dabbled much in rhyme
And I have written reams of stuff more than I wish to recall
And better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all.