I Am Not The Only Poetaster Poem by Francis Duggan

I am a journey man from Ireland who has written reams of doggerel
But the poets go to the poets heaven and I'm bound for the poetasters hell
For if there is a life hereafter as many believe there may
be
For my ordinary life I will not be rewarded though in hell I will have company.

I once dreamed of fame and of fortune but that was a long time ago
And the more I have learned it would seem the less I realize that I know
I fancied myself as a student of Nature but Nature seems too big for me
There's more than song to the bird you hear singing at dawn and dusk on high branch of a tree.

I am not the only poetaster who only writes doggerel rhyme
And I am not the only poetaster to have dreamed of success in my prime
But the years they went by far too quickly and time for anyone doesn't wait
And the past has departed forever and for any regrets now too late.

I thought I knew something of Nature but in retrospect I got it wrong
For Nature with us does not share her secrets since to Nature
we too belong
Our span of life is such a brief span and too soon we grow old and gray
Though vain people pay heaps of money for to cover their signs of decay.

I am not the only poetaster to have dreamed of fortune and fame
And I am not the only poetaster there are many far too many to name
And though we are like the leaves of the Autumn who flow off in the flooded stream
Life for us would scarce be worth living if we were not able to dream.