Francis Duggan Poems

Though I have drunk old Tubrid's sparkling waters
And prayed at the small shrine by Tubrid Well
It hasn't made me a successful person
And it won't save me from the flames of hell.
...

He is a stranger in the Town and him you do not know
And because he looks darker than you direspect for him you show
His skin may be as black as coal but his soul may be white
And your soul full of darkness like the darkened skies of night.
...

You feel your contribution for the advancement of Humankind to much does not amount
But every positive word you speak for the common good does count
One tiny voice can grow to a roar and one can grow to a crowd
You speak on behalf of the underdog for that you should feel proud.
...

Some like to think that your past is gone forever
But your memories good or bad won't fade away
And green of Spring to the young eyes look greener
And our sense of wonderment grow less with every day.
...

On a stringybark in a flat paddock I can hear the pale eyed crow
Cawing in the early morning near where the Tarwin waters flow
On towards the great Pacific it slowly winds it's way
By the narrow road to Tarwin Lower that end up at Venus Bay.
...

The Summer wet and not much sun and half the hay crop rotten
But Con the Master said next Spring all this will be forgotten
And Winter months were not too harsh and Spring was quick to follow
And cattle early out to grass in all parts of Duhallow.
...

I still recall a memory from my childhood
Long years ago and many miles away
The robin on the flowering hawthorn singing
And the high fields wore their wildflowers of the May.
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The sky overcast the rain comes down in drizzle August the thirtieth the date of today
This time tomorrow yes this time tomorrow Spring will be just a few hours away
Some birds are nest building others on their eggs sitting male magpie is piping on the stringybark tree
At this time of year he attacks without warning even humans who venture near his territory.
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We all need recognition we need others to say
You are quite good at what you do and well done anyway,
You may blush when others sing your praises but you like it just the same
And you too are entitled to your ten minutes of fame.
...

I've never been a soldier or fought in war and I've been called a coward
Yet I would not bow to Australia's Queen or salute Johnny Howard
And if George W Bush or Tony Blair were driven down my street I would look the other way
Do not tell me who I should respect that is for me to say.
...