The Once Dark Haired Butcher Boy

That poem by Denis Murphy felt like a whiff of joy
On the whereabouts of Richard Regan the once dark haired Butcher Boy
It seems he is back near  Ballydaly in his mansion by the hill
Though looking a bit older time never does stand still

I recall Bill and Abby's son as a dark haired carefree lad
In his ways a little wayward though in him nothing bad
With the Twomeys and D Dinneen he often went on pub crawl
But nothing in life stays the same and that applies to all

Nowadays he wears a straw hat just like his uncle Dan
Did when making wynds of hay in Pat Murphy's acre back then an ageing man
Most of us follow in the footsteps of the ancestral way
They do mentor us from their graves as some are known to say

No longer backing greyhounds at the Cork Greyhound Track
But now that does seem long ago when in time one does go back
The once prodigal son nowadays by good example does lead
Such a story nice to know of and a pleasure for to read

From Butcher Boy to Market Gardener a more natural way of life
'Tis said behind every good man a good woman or wife
The once dark haired handsome fellow in life has settled down
In his mansion by the mountain not far from Millstreet Town.