The Old Bards Of The Shire Poem by Francis Duggan

In their time the young poets they used to inspire
May they rest in peace the long dead Bards of the Shire
They too knew the glory they too had their day
But in Nature's dark bosom they forever lay.

Beyond a sense of pride that comes from renown
They lay in their graves at the east of the town
In their lives applauded for their gifts of rhyme
Their fame it is fading with the passing of time.

In literature the changes keep happening and more changes ahead
And as dead as the dodo of rhyme it is said
And nothing save Nature ever seems to last
And the poets and poetry of today will too be of the past.

They once were renowned in town and countryside
And through their poetry they were known far and wide
But in Nature's dark bosom forever they lay
And memories of them are memories in decay.