Self Promises Come Cheap Poem by Francis Duggan

I left that town by Clara hill one cold December day
And Clara with the bracken face wore Winter cap of grey
I travelled to a distant Land thousands of miles away
But I vowed that I would return to greet the flowers of May.

So many Seasons since gone by and my vow I've failed to keep
And I've broken a promise to myself but self promises come cheap
I did not return to greet the May and see the flowers of Spring
And walk down through the leafy grove and hear the dunnock sing.

Why should I wish to go back home when I can visualize
And hear the airborne skylark sing in cloudy Irish skies
And why should I wish to travel far thousands of miles away
When in my heart I still can see those windblown flowers of May?

I still feel a true Irishman and I still call Ireland home
And for green fields of Duhallow such great love I have known
But who can knock these Sherbrook hills where gums reach towards the sky
Where magpie flute and kookaburra laugh and beauty greet the eye.

And I've got an Australian wife and she's been good for me
And she could never live too far from her own family
And if I felt Homesick which I'm not with her I still would stay
To nostalgia for trust and love I never could give way.

I left my home by Millstreet Town more than sixteen years ago
When Clara wore a snowy cap and Winter winds did blow
I vowed that I'd return in Spring, my vow I did not keep
And I broke a promise to myself but self promises come cheap.