Francis Duggan January Poems

The cold winds of January from the north east does blow
And the weather is cold quite cold enough for to snow
And the hungry birds silent on the naked hedgerow
In the flat and rushy fields where the Blackwater flow.
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Brown butterflies dancing in the sun and the breeze
On a January day close to thirty degrees
The brown grass looks lifeless and the countryside as dry as it has ever been
And only the trees and the bushes look green
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On the second week of January I hear the shrike thrush sing
His flute like notes so pleasant to them have a familiar ring
And Spring is but a memory and Summer near her prime
And that birds sing out of Season happens all of the time.
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On the slated roof of the public toilet the silver gulls bask in the sun
And children in the sea side park are playing games and having fun
And the wattlebirds are calling on a flowering melaleuca tree
In Inverloch in South Gippsland the old village by the sea.
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The huge bush fires in the blue mountains fire fighters struggle to control
And on wild born creatures the flames have taken toll
Many roos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and possums have met with a painful death
These anti Nature arsonists may they live to regret
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When the old lady handed her a basket of flowers she caught Anne in a nasty mood
The so called Princess did not even thank her she only muttered something rude
And the disappointed Royal watcher was left there to choke back her tears
She surely deserved better treatment she had been a Royalist for years.
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The Boggeragh mountains old as time wear their winter hats of snow
And through quiet lands of Duhallow the old Blackwater flow
The leafless grove bereft of birdsong and bare looking the hedgerow
And from the cold north countries the icy cold winds blow.
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It's cold in Duhallow this morning and the fields that were green yesterday
Lay chilled to the frost that the night brought a cover of silvery gray
And the little dunnock on bare hedgerow too cold and too hungry to sing
On nude branch he perch sad and silent the hardship that January can bring.
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Today old Finnow in flood waters of brown
Bank high in the rushy fields near Millstreet Town
On towards the Blackwater loudly babbling it's way
In the gray of the morning on a cold and windy January day
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White butterflies in the warm air of a January day
In the evening sunshine seemingly play
The weather quite warm close to thirty degrees
And the blue sky full of the buzzing of bush flies and bees
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A high for the day of a warm thirty eight degrees
But in the late evening a cool freshening breeze
Just before sunset has brought the temperature down
On this beautiful January evening in Port Fairy Town
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On a nice and cool January evening of around twenty degrees
The cawing of the crows is carrying in the breeze
Though the sun in the gray sky is hidden away
For the prime of Summer quite a pleasant day
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The weather forecast does have rain for today
And behind the low gray clouds the sun hidden away
A chilly though dry morning of around five degrees
And freshening winds across the foothills soughing in the pine trees
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In the warmth of the afternoon from the high trees
The cawing of the crows is carrying in the breeze
The weather is sunny and breezy and warm and dry
Without even one gray cloud in the blue sky
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A nice sunny January evening of over twenty degrees
The sweet scent of freshly mowed grass is blowing in the breeze
Above the brown paddocks from the Pacific shore
In the long range weather forecast of warm and dry many days more
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A weather forecast high for the day of a pleasant twenty degrees
And brown butterflies flitting around the sunlit bushes and trees
The sweet scent of hay blowing in the freshening breeze
And in the Summer air the buzzing of bush flies and bees
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Quite sunny and warm for the first day of the New Year
The flute like songs of the magpies so pleasant to hear
With the sun on their wings in the gentle breeze
Brown butterflies flitting from bushes to trees
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At the Warrnambool Friday evening market in Lake Pertobe Park
Entertainment and business there goes on until dark
Food stall holders as well as stall holders there of every sort
Competing with each other for customer support
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In the Moyne Shire on the warmest day of the year
The warbling of a magpie so pleasant to hear
A weather temperature high for the day of forty degrees
And warmth in the sunshine and warmth in the breeze
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From the ocean walkway the surf waves one does hear
Crashing on the beach that in distance is near
To the shady walkway flanked by coastal trees
On a pleasant enough January evening over twenty degrees
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It has been another sunny and quite warm day
The tall grass in the paddocks the colour of hay
The creeks flowing at a trickle and bone dry every drain
The Moyne Shire it could do with some heavy rain
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The freshening breeze blowing uphill from Gorman's Bay
Carries in it the sweet scent of freshly baled hay
The sun shining bright in the sky blue and gray
In Illowa it is a beautiful day
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A watchdog in a yard nearby utters an angry bark
In answer to a fox's shrill cry in the starlit town park
On Commercial Road to and from Warrnambool big trucks drive up and down
On a January night in the Moyne Shire in Koroit's country Town
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Though my worth as a rhymer i have reason to doubt
In Nature no shortage of things for me to write rhymes about
The day it is warm the sun it is out
In this beautiful place in the far coastal south
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It is a warm evening near forty degrees
And warmth in the sunshine and warmth in the breeze
That blow up the hill from the park by the bay
For January thus far the warmest day
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The day it is warm and sunny and dry
White butterflies in their millions dancing in the blue sky
Many of their tiny bodies lying on the roadway
Victims of cars and trucks their lives have been shortened by at least a day
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In the depths of Winter far north in Duhallow old Allow River in flood waters of brown
In the bare fields it rushes on bank high towards the Blackwater and through Kanturk Town
Late January cold and wet in Duhallow when the old Boggeraghs wear their hats of snow
In the bare trees the winter gales howling down from the northern mountains they do blow
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It is warm today over thirty degrees
And the cattle are sheltering in the shade of the trees
Out of the sun where it is a bit more cool
In the brown and bare Moyne Shire coastal countryside close to Warrnambool
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The river from Kippagh in storm waters of brown
Bank high in the old fields west of Millstreet Town
From recent heavy rain on this January day
And stealing down Clara the rain fogs of gray
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It is warm today over thirty degrees
And warmth in the sunshine and warmth in the breeze
That blow across the bare dry paddocks from the nearby bay
In the clear blue sky just a few clouds of gray
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For Summer this is pleasant weather the last day of January
It is neither warm or humid just pleasant as the word can be
Though the sun today it has not been out hidden behind the clouds of gray
And the freshening winds blowing from the ocean we well may have some rain today
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In Mushera today the cold wind soughing in the deciduous trees
In weather temperatures close to if not lower than zero degrees
From overnight frost the high fields by the mountain looking gray
You will not hear birdsong by the Boggeraghs today
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The weather temperatures feel quite oppressive a high of thirty five degrees
And it even feels warm out of the sunshine in the shade of the tall trees
The dry humid air is far from pleasant in the stillness of the afternoon
And many do hope for a cool change for them it cannot come too soon
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With warmth in the sunshine and warmth in the breeze
A weather temperature for the day of near forty degrees
The sun blazing hot in the blue and sunny sky
And so very warm the ground is so dry
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The cattle in the farmyard shed bellowing for silage and hay
In the frosty dawn of a gray January day
The sparrows chirping on the rafters of the galvanize timber shed
Waiting in expectation of scraps of food and crumbs of bread
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Swollen from heavy rain in Sliabh Luachra and Duhallow
The river Blackwater it's banks overflow
And flood the countryside for kilometers around
The waterlogged fields on flood waters abound
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In Port Fairy in the holiday period in January for the mates some good fun
Playing cricket on the beach in the afternoon sun
Where each run is greeted with a lusty cheer
And between overs a break for a swim and a beer
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The weather temperature high over thirty degrees
With warmth in the sunshine and warmth in the breeze
That rustle in the bushes and trees in the park by the bay
Even allowing for January in Summer it is quite a warm day
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Few cars on the quiet street do pass up and down
On a cold Winter night in old Millstreet Town
The pub doors are locked not a human in sight
On what is a typical January weekday night
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In the sunny and blue sky just a few clouds of gray
It is warm and humid in Koroit today
In temperatures quite close to thirty degrees
The air is so still without any breeze
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In the mostly blue and sunny sky some cumulus of woolly looking gray
It is almost thirty degrees in Koroit Town today
The warbling of the magpies on the sunlit trees
In the Botanical Gardens is carrying in the freshening breeze
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Far north even as the migratory bird flies from here far away
It is cold by the old hills very cold today
The chill winds of rain soughing in the bare trees
And the weather temperature down below zero degrees
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Tis warm in the full sun but in the shade tis cool
And the magpies and the mudlarks are singing in the City of Warrnambool
Their music in the Summer air where the cars buzz up and down
On Lava Street in the heart of the busy seaside Town.
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The river bank high through the old fields does flow
And the weather is cold quite cold enough to snow
And the ground in the morning with frost hoary gray
In Annagloor it is quite wintery today.
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Last night in my dreams i did hear the winds roar
Above the old high fields of far Claramore
A cold Winter moon crept behind clouds to hide
And on the bleak hillside the hungry fox cried
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The paddock is bare and the creek almost dry
And all through the day the sun burns in the sky
And yesterday's rain it has dried off of the ground
And the little bush flies they keep buzzing around.
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In the warm sunshine of January in the Parkland by the sea
The nectar gathering bees are buzzing around every flowering bush and tree
On a pleasant day in mid Summer of around 26 degrees
With the hoarse cries of the wattlebirds floating in the freshening breeze
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Port Fairy in January on a warm and humid saturday
The beach full of people the young splash and play
In the shallows where the small waves splash onto the beach
In a place safe to swim where the life savers can reach
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