The Bogland Near Rathmore Poem by Francis Duggan

The skylark from the bracken rise and singing as she soar
And flute like notes of curlew in the bogland near Rathmore
And swallow almost touch the ground as to and fro she fly
Whenever swallow fly so low it's said that rain is nigh.

And cuckoo she has come back home from places far away
Across the bog I hear her voice she sings all through the day
In nest of warbler or pipit her speckled egg she lay
The only part in parenting that the cuckoo ever play.

On the Cork and Kerry border in the latter days of May
The hawthorn trees look beautiful in flowers of white to gray
And male chaffinch with the bright pink breast pipes his sweetest melody
On one of the higher branches of leafy horse chestnut tree.

The Spring to Summer quickly fade and summer fade to Fall
And wandering birds and their young broods answer to Nature's call
And fly off to their wintering grounds on distant sunny shore
And leave behind the small green fields and the bogland near Rathmore.

And Autumn days to Winter fade and cold the north winds blow
And Shrone Paps and Caherbarnagh wear their white hats of snow
But Spring will come and skylark in the clouds will sing and soar
And curlew will be fluting in the bogland near Rathmore.