Francis Duggan Poetry Poems

Modern poets and modern poetry seem far too complex to understand
For such as I a common labourer from the boglands of Ireland
Though whether it be good or not so it is not for me to say
As I'm not a poetry critic and so I'll keep my tongue at bay.
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To the critics of poetry we are not good enough
They dismiss us as those who pen terrible stuff
'Tis beneath their dignity our stuff to criticize
We will not be short listed for any literary prize.
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In modern poetry there is no place for old style rhyme
'Tis seen as belonging to another time
But such is life as some have been known to say
And rhyme now seen as old fashioned though it did have it's day
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Don't ask me for my opinions on poets and poetry
For of such little I can claim to know
Every writer to the wordsmith trade contributes
And from humble beginnings every legend grow.
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Our poetry critics ageing males on saturday evenings from six to nine
Meet at the literary room of the Lions Club to do what suits them fine
To talk of poetry and poets each to their point of view
Though they agree on one thing that good poets only few.
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I am not a poetry critic for such i am not qualified
And who is a poet or non poet is not for me to decide
I had a love of reading rhymes when i was a young boy
And nowadays as an ageing male writing them i do enjoy
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You ask me who is or who is not a poet
And of who should be worthy of literary note
But since i am one without a literary degree
why don't you ask somebody other than me
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What is or is not poetry not for me to tell
Since the poems i like reading by many of the literary critics dismissed as doggerel
And as we know literary critics do have literary degrees
And such things do not grow on bushes and trees
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It is not poetry many literary experts say of rhyme
Though it was the poetry of a now long gone time
As dead as the dodo as some like to say
And the dodo has been dead for many a day
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In writing rhyme for most people there is little money and fame
Even going back the decades of literary history so few rhymers for themselves have made a name
For most it is only a hobby for to while away some leisure time
The back end of the twentieth century has witnessed the passing of rhyme
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To an old school of literature he did belong
Duhallow's last legend of poetry and song
With words he was one who surely had a way
Some of his songs and poems are sung and recited today
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Of your knowledge on poetry you wish me to know
Your three favourites poets Eliot, Whitman and Poe
Though great they may be I regret for to say
That on reading them you won't be laughing all day
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Why ask me of poetry or who is or is not a poet
Or who is not worthy or worthy of note
Since in literature I do not have a literary degree
For an opinion on such a matter ask one other than me
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Since I have never been to Uni and I do not have a Literary Degree
If you want to know about poetry go ask someone other than me
I doubt my own worth as a writer I've never said I was a poet
Ask someone other for an opinion on your writing a literary critic or one of literary note
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At the poetry evening the great poet his verses read
Though his great depth of feeling was way above my head
At the end his audience applauded in a long encore
But I was one of just a few who did not ask for more.
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They do write in English but never in rhyme
Those referred to by the literary critics as the poets of our time
Of language they seem to have a great command
Though their poems I do struggle for to understand.
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Some ask me to read and rate their poetry though their poetry seems all good to me
I am not a literary critic and I do not have a literary degree
In a Literary World of millions of wordsmiths not everybody can be great
Though some the critics do rate highly and many they do not even rate
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In every would be poet a poetaster you will find
You ask me is it poetry or what on that make up your own mind
I am just an ordinary fellow who has penned a lot of stuff
For many years and Seasons I have been a rhyming buff
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Those who define what is doggerel from poetry in their own ways seem small
To them even a well written rhyme poem is not poetry at all
Are their souls without music is poetry not song
Or is my thinking outdated have I got it wrong?
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He surely lived his poetry that would be fair to say
And he left Wales as a young man for places far away
He travelled in North America and tramped from town to town
And he started writing poetry on his highway to renown.
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