Bill From Merino Poem by Francis Duggan

He cannot go back to his old home a stranger now is living there
Ten years back his brother Jim sold it since he found employment elsewhere
And Merino the Village he grew up in as a place seems forgotten by time
He left it back in the mid eighties when he was approaching his prime.

Bill from Merino in his early forties a father who leads a single life
His ex girl friend Lyn who gave birth to his daughter to someone else became a wife
Twice a year he sees young Amy in distance they may live apart
But his D N A it is in her and she is one dear to his heart.

He spent his boyhood years in Merino the Village with brown paddocks all around
He now lives in Richmond a suburb of Melbourne a long drive from his home ground
His favourite football team the Tigers of Richmond he often goes to watch them play
This year they have not been doing too well 'such is life' about that he say.

Bill from Merino an easy going fellow a nice bloke in his own quiet way
The years now are creeping up on him and in his brown hair there is some gray
In the Royal Oak pub on Burnley street most evenings he has a few drinks with his mates
They mostly talk of current affairs and of football and air their views on sporting greats.

When he was a boy in Merino the masked Lapwings o'er the paddocks did fly
And in fancy he still hear them singing above their breeding grounds in the night sky
Just a memory from his childhood his life very different today
And he is now well into his mid life years and from his home
Village he lives far away.