By Cashman's Hill

By Cashman's Hill in St Mary's from here far north and far away
Many of the deceased people of Millstreet Parish lay
It is a cold place on a Winter's day
When the grave sites in frost are cloaked in gray
From life for all of us there is a final release
Many of the mentors of my younger years there forever rest in peace
As a boy and young man life's insights from them i did gain
And fond memories  of them with me does remain
To Cashman's Hill the Seasons come and go
And time does become everybody's foe
At least of life's cares they are forever free
Life's journey too will end one day for me
But by Cashman's Hill from here thousands of sky miles away
My last remains forever may not lay.

If You Cannot Love Yourself

The very wise woman she said to her son
If you cannot love yourself you cannot love anyone
The truth in her words is worthy of recall
If you cannot love yourself you cannot love anyone does apply to us all
The people with the gift of love for others do care
And  the love that is in them with others they do share
To help those in need of helping they go out of their way
And they do perform their good deeds every day
Those who have  love in them are great people indeed
And of more of their kind the Human World is in need
A few people with such a gift i feel privileged to know
One might say of them they have the inner glow
If you cannot love yourself you cannot love anyone
Just like the very wise mother did say to her son.

Catherine Duggan

To be kind and compassionate and a great wife and mother were her claims to fame
Before she married Con Duggan Catherine Murphy was her name
An only child of Andrew Duggan who hailed from Lisnaboy
Con died young in his  early forties a long life he did not enjoy

The mother to a  large family she raised them on her own
Her children the Duggans of Millstreet Town are famous and widely known
A woman of rare beauty and unaffected by conceit
And so wise and easy going in her ways and always a joy to meet

For the past three decades her last remains in Drishane Cemetery lay
And in the Millstreet Town she raised her children in changes happening every day
To the Town and countryside by Clara Hill the Seasons come and go
And time as it has always done to everyone becomes a foe

Yet every time i visualize the past comes back to me
And on the Killarney Road Catherine walking her corgi dogs is one i often see
We cannot bring back what used to be since what used to be  has gone
But as long as we retain the gift of memory the past in us  lives on

It has been said of the good souls that they have wings to fly
To the paradise where good souls go to somewhere beyond the sky
And perhaps Catherine is happy today where the winged angels are
And does she think of Millstreet Town and the famous Blue Dog Bar?

A Very Sad Thing For To Say

Most human beings who die in an unnatural way die at the hands of their own kind
The names of so many mass murderers do come to mind
So many far too many even to attempt to name
Who have died with the guilt of humanity's greatest crimes of shame
Moses fifth commandment broken many times every day
And some  people die in a  very foul way
The numbers of premeditated murders are on the rise
Suppose with the increase in the human population this comes as no surprise
Of deaths by gun, bomb and knife every day we do hear
Some people of their own kind of their lives live in fear
Too many seem lacking in compassion and empathy
And they do take out their anger in crimes against humanity
And people are murdered and maimed by their own kind every day
Which does seem a very sad thing for to say.

The Silver Back Crow

It's kind live  in the  high woods near the hills where the bracken does grow
The bird hated by sheep farmers the silver back crow
Since to kill newly born lambs it's kind are known
No mercy to them by the farmers are shown
But despite poisoning and shooting the gray crows as a species survive
In the face of adversity they do seem to thrive
The tag of survivors to them does apply
And their secret of survival of humans is to be wary and shy
At the approach of a person they are quick to fly
To the security and safety of the woodland nearby
And though poisoned and shot at by sheep farmers every day
They are not in danger of extinction in any way
The ways of how  to survive in adversity they have come to know
They are great survivors the silver back crow.

A Wet And Dark Night

On a dark and wet Winter's night in the  old country town
On the main street few cars and trucks pass up and down
And  the hunting boobook owl in the park nearby
It's often repeated mopoke on the tall trees does cry
In the  dead of the night in late Winter of the year
The shrill cries of the  breeding spur wing plovers one often does hear
When danger to their nest is near they call out as they fly
And human, dog, fox or cat attack from the sky
A cold and wet night in late August of three to four degrees
And the male brush tail possums snarl as they fight on the gum trees
In Nature the strongest and biggest males with the females do breed
To pass on their genes the weaker never succeed
A wet and dark night in late August in the old country town
And on the main street few cars and trucks pass up and down.

Though I Am One

Though i am one  who has penned reams  of doggerel
Of my life  i do not have any great stories to tell
Of material or sporting success or being successful at anything
Though the praises of others in rhyme  i often do sing

People of empathy and compassion i greatly admire
And of singing their praises i never could tire
The  people who do their good deeds every day
And help poor people in need of helping without expecting pay

In life the fruits of the Karma we sow we receive
On such a philosophy i do believe
And in every good person good traits you will find
So blessed indeed are the caring and kind

And though my worth as a rhymer i have  reason to doubt
No shortage of things for me to write about
I have written reams of stuff in four decades of time
And the kind and compassionate always inspire me to rhyme.

The Now Is All That Does Matter

There is  truth in the saying where there is a will there is a way
And tomorrow will come in it's own good time as the wise one did say
And you cannot change what has happened yesterday since yesterday has gone
And the  now is all that does matter and life does go on
Our bad memories we do wish that we could forget
But what has happened can never be changed by regret
Tomorrow yet to dawn and yesterday has  gone
And life all around us  as usual goes on
The now is all that does matter as the wise one did say
The best you can do is make the most of your day
Though some say from life you receive your due
You can only live  in the now does happen to be true
And why waste regret on the past since the past it has gone
And life all around you as usual goes on.

Kanturk In Duhallow

For legendary G A A players a place of renown
Kanturk in Duhallow a famous old Town
Where Allow towards the Blackwater winds it's way down
By the home of Duhallow's singer of old Ballads the great singer musician Tim Browne

Nearby Derrygallon the  birth-place of a winner of two time Olympic hammer throwing gold
The legendary Pat O Callaghan of his greatness many stories told
In Amsterdam and Los Angeles he became famed Worldwide
The man of whom greatness cannot be denied

The saint in life Edel Quinn in Kanturk has a Hall in her name
To live  as a great person was her claim to fame
Though deceased for many decades her fame it has grown
One of many Kanturk people to become widely known

Though only in fancy i visit there again
Good memories of Kanturk with me does remain
Where Allow to the Blackwater goes babbling along
 The old waterway famed in story and song

In Kanturk from here far north and far away
I would be  just an aging stranger today
Where i used to visit a  few decades ago
Before time did age me and became my foe.

I Have Been Told

I have been told i only write doggerel that i am a literary disgrace
By people that i only do know of that i never have met face to face
They set themselves up as my judges by judging me for things i like to do
Many of us can be judge-mental and i can be judge-mental too
But they do not deter me from rhyming what i love doing why should i give away
Because of those who do not like my style of writing who online on me have their say
I do not solicit online for positive feedback or negative comments i do not invite
Negative comments will never stop me of rhyming since  it is for enjoyment i do write
When others praise or criticize what i do this is their business and this with me does suit me fine
Since  what is another person's business is hardly any business of mine
Online  i never pass judgement on others each to their own as some do say
I just carry on dabbling in rhyme suppose i was born to live in this way
I have  been told i only write doggerel by people i do not even know
Some people in their words on others their lacking in compassion and empathy show.

If You Can live As A Good Person

The poet is known for writing poetry and the novelist writes novels in prose
And the rhymer is just that a rhymer but then such is life  one suppose
And very few writers as we know from writing their fortune have made
But it is true every writer is needed in the Worldwide literary trade

That few become wealthy and famous from writing only happens  for to be true
But having this said some will tell you we receive from life what is our due
Most writers do write as a hobby with words they like  to have a play
That everyone cannot be wealthy and famous seems a fair enough thing for to say

If all of us had similar interests how very boring we would be
That everyone in the town i do live in had similar interests to me
We all have our own interests and hobbies and no two exactly the same
And though everyone in life wishes to be successful few come to know of wealth and fame

If you can live as a  good person and be willing to help anyone of helping in need
Then living as one who is successful you are doing your best to succeed
Not everyone can be an elite sportsperson a great novelist or artist or poet
For to live your life as a good person you need not be considered to be one of note.

For Me For To Live

I am not a vegetarian of this i will not lie
For me for to live other creatures do die
A lot of water and land life i do eat
Since i am a person who likes fish and meat
The creatures i eat others for me do kill
But of fish and meat i do like my fill
And am i any less guilty than those who kill for me?
Guilty by association is  how it seems to be
Of singing their praises i never could tire
Vegetarians can live without meat for that them i admire
If everyone were like them all edible life forms would die in the natural way
But everybody has different taste buds it does seem fair to say
I am not a vegetarian of this i will not lie
For me for to live other creatures do die.

Dave

Two years ago to cancer he  lost his beloved wife
 In her fiftieth year she lost her battle for life
Ten years ago their only child in his late teens in a motoring accident died
That he knows about life's tough side of him cannot be denied

In his fifty fourth year life has not been easy on Dave
But it cannot be said of him that he is not brave
Of the up and down sides of life he is one who does know
But one can say of him he has the inner glow

The Dave's of the World to say the least rare
With dignity and bravery his crosses in life he does bear
He says  i may have known sad times but i have many a good memory
Of my beloved wife and son of how it used to be

His wife June and son Tim in the family grave
And though he has  known times of grief and sorrow Dave
Realizes he cannot change the past since the past it has gone
And with the living of life  he does go on.

In A Human World

The Human World is  made up of teetotalers and boozers
And junkies and has been and winners and losers
The poor and downtrodden of all different races
The sadness of life on the lines of their faces

The war torn cities where thousands are injured and dying
And the refugees of famines and conflicts their numbers multiplying
The gap of the social divide every day is growing wider
In a Human World where to be poor is to be  a social outsider

In a Human World where only the successful have a recorded life story
And your  millions in money your ticket to glory
And  crime on the increase amongst the corporate greedy
Who exploit for their own gain the vulnerable needy

A Human World where through honest endeavor few do become wealthy
And where to be  poor is to be hungry and unhealthy
And big egos by success and money inflated
And only the winners are the celebrated.

Danny Lynch

He will never walk in the old fields again
Or hear the birds sing in the wind and the rain
When the cool winds of April across Kippagh blow
Above the high fields that border the mountain where the bracken grow

Danny Lynch in Kippagh first looked on the  lamp of  day
And there he  raised his children and grew old and gray
And from Kippagh he will be missed by all where he was loved and known
The  people of Ballydaly do always grieve the  death of  one of their own

He will never again get the sweet scent of hay
Of freshly mown meadow grass of a warm Summer's day
Those who came into contact with Danny in his long life span
Will remember him as a quiet and very nice honest man

In Drishane cemetery from Kippagh a few miles away
The last remains of Danny Lynch at rest forever lay
Kippagh for him in it a much better place
Where his will live on as a remembered face.

On Oscar Wilde

That genius  outlives mortality is  not a lie
And the wit and talent of Oscar Wilde refuses to die
He wrote his most faamous  poem on leaving Reading Jail
Genius rises to the surface when all else seems to fail

The man who had enjoyed his great years of fame
And one who had to live with the  public scorn of shame
In his lifetime he knew of great success and his was a great literary name
But the flame of true genius is never a flickering flame

A World renowned talent and wit when in his life's prime
His genius has withstood the great test of time
A playwright supreme a great writer and poet
His fame lives today as one of Worldwide literary note

The man who knew the  great joy of success and renown
And who died just beyond mid life  feeling sad and down
In his poems, stories and plays is living today
That true genius by centuries outlives bodily death does seem fair to say.

The Merri

were i born a poet a poem i would write
A poem for others to read and enjoy and recite
Of the  famed Merri River an old  water-way
That in Warrnambool flows into the Pacific at Lady Bay
Long before the  first Europeans to south west Victoria came
And gave to the Merri it's now famous name
For thousands of centuries before that in Summer in the shade of the trees
Australia's first people danced their corroborees
Since then many Seasons  have come and have gone
But the old Merri River to the ocean flows on
In south west Victoria by night and  by day
In and out of Lake Pertobe and on to Lady Bay
At the end  of it's journey to the Pacific shore
It has flowed forever and will forever more.

A Stranger's Face

In my first home-place Claraghatlea in Millstreet in Duhallow from here far away
To many there i would be a stranger today
I left there almost twenty seven years ago
And time since then it has become my foe
Only in fancy i see old Clara again
And hear the chaffinch singing in the wind and the rain
When the cool winds of April in Duhallow blow
In the countryside where Finnow to the Blackwater flow
And only the memories in me do live on
Of what in reality is in the forever gone
The boy of the fifties showing his  years in gray
But the now is all that does matter as some like to say
And  today in Claraghatlea in my first home-place
To many there mine would be a stranger's face.

For All Of Us

Some die very young and some die old and gray
For all of us there will be a last night and day
Many claim that post bodily death the soul has wings to fly
To another World somewhere  beyond the sky
Yet any deceased person does not come back to tell
Us of a life after death in a heaven or a hell
The difference between the cow and the sheep and you and i
Is that they do not realize they were born to die
Three score and ten years the average human life span
On average a few years more for a woman than it is for a man
We age rather quickly and time ticks away
And does not wait for anyone as some are known to say
We are born to mortality and this not a lie
And this applies to everyone  as well as you and i.

On The 2013 Australian Federal Election

A Federal Election in September in Spring
The  politicians on the hustings their own praises do sing
In their electioneering in every village and city and town
Politician laud their own parties and run their opponents down
It looks like Tony Abbott The Coalition leader Kevin Rudd  the Labor leader as Australia's Prime Minister will replace
For a winner there has to be a loser in every race
An election fought on mean spirited policies of varying degrees
On the economy and climate change and who is toughest on refugees
At the  expense of the  stateless and homeless there are votes to be won
Politics can be quite a dirty business when all is said and done
Since their policies only favor the wealthy billionaire
Who will be Australia's next Government Labor or the Coalition why should i even care
Since  with neither of their policies i do agree
My sympathies are with the poor refugee

Such Sad News

Such sad news on t v and radio every day
From war torn countries from here far away
From Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan
Conflicts seem never ending the decades they do span
Conflicts over politics and borders and  religious hate
In needless deaths through violence nothing to celebrate
Human life taken cheaply where trouble is  rife
And the bitterest conflicts born of civil strife
Where civilians are badly injured and dying no side can claim they are right
Of conflicts in the World no end seems in sight
When one war is over another begin
And in war even so called winners do not win
Such sad news from Countries  from here far away
In this troubled old World we live in today.

In My Wild Flights Of Fancy

In my wild flights of fancy i hear the silver tongued rill
Flow babbling to the river down the high field by the hill
When the wildflowers in the old fields are quite beautiful to see
And the male chaffinch is singing on the leafy alder tree
And the hawthorns look resplendent cloaked in their white blooms of the May
And  the  skylark leaves the bracken towards the clouds he sings his way
Such things not hard to imagine it is easy to visualize
Though for us  in our every walk in Nature every day  some new surprise
In fancy i can hear the dark rooks  in the gloaming of the day
Cawing on the high beech trees by the river far away
Anybody can imagine you can go into your mind
And the finest mental pictures there you readily will find
And you can sense the pleasant scent that comes from new mown hay
When the Summer sun is shining on meadows far away.

We Never Stop Learning

We never stop learning as some like to say
And from life we do learn something new every day
We will be learning from life until the day we die
I only quote fact and fact does never lie
And the more we do learn the more we realize
That we are not so clever this not a  surprise
In our journeys through life many errors we make
But we learn as we live from our every mistake
As we follow the course of our life's destiny
And you are what you are this is all you can be
The happy with their lot in a minority
They are a rare breed those known as the carefree
In life as in all things the losers are many and the winners are few
Though to this you may say this to us is not new.

Two Aging Nice People

An aging poor man and his poor aging wife
They only seem to have each other in life
The weather is breezy and warm and fine
Walking in the park in the evening sunshine

Their children and grandchildren nowadays they never see
How sad and how lonely for some life can be
On living expenses buying food and paying rent
By pension day all of their money they've spent

Too poor for to go to a restaurant for to socialize
Their landlord of late their rent on them did rise
He lives with his wife and his teenage son and daughter on the town's wealthy side
One on the right side of the  social divide.

The tag of life's  battlers to them does apply
That inequality is rife none ought to deny
Two aging nice people in their late seventies tough times they have known
One  might say of them that they are on their own.

Since I Was A Young Man

Since i was a young man some things have not changed much since  then
Many young women today fancy big muscle bound men
Impressed by the bulging biceps not the brain in the head
Not hard  to impress of some it can be said
Amongst Nature's animals most females with the biggest and strongest males breed
And with some young women it is very similar indeed
The big broad shouldered hairy chested male by them is preferred 
To the slightly built brainy chap known as the nerd
Are the young women who mate with big muscular males unbeknown to themselves following Nature's
Law?
Your own conclusion on that you must draw
For i am not an anthropologist or a scientist so of such would not know
Though of Nature's ways my wonder only does grow
And us humans are part of Nature though with that many may disagree
No different to other life  forms we are born to mortality.

On Gina Rinehart

Many times a  billionaire from mining Aboriginal Land
Yet i cannot even try for to understand
Why the  indigenous people are so poor and Gina Rinehart is a multi billionaire
So much for those who say that all in life is fair
Australia's wealthiest person any tax does not want to pay
That greed knows no borders does seem true to say
With Gina Rinehart greed is a natural thing
Yet many Australians her praises happy to sing
From mining aboriginal land her financial wealth accumulate
Yet to charity little in money she does donate
The woman who is many times a billionaire
Any of her wealth seems unwilling to share
Even amongst the people who own her mined on land
And this i do find hard to understand.

On The Syrian Chemical Weapons Attack

For the chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria the government and the rebels each other do blame
In what for Syria and humanity is just one more day of shame
In a horrible civil war that may go on for years
Poor Syria has become the land of  death, blood letting and tears
Most war men are not known for their humanity
The strangers to compassion and empathy
The use of chemical weapons is an unforgivable crime
And those who authorize their use should be sentenced to a life of  prison time
The very worst of criminals of them one might say
That power can corrupt it does seem this way
In Syria on a chemical weapons attack nearly two thousand people died
Those who authorized and carried out this atrocity human made law may avoid
But the workings of Karma cannot be denied
And from it for them there will be nowhere to hide.

In Iraq

In Iraq people seriously injured and die in terrorist attacks every day
And innocent people the ultimate price made to pay
For foreign invasion that brought about regime change
Some people in their actions to say the least strange
In their ordering of the invasion of Iraq the leaders of the coalition of the  willing boast of success
But they have left this poor Country in a horrible mess
The coalition of the willing have left and they will not be coming back
To where they introduced bloodshed through terrorism to the Country know as Iraq
In terrorists attacks in Iraq thousands seriously injured and thousands are dead
They did  not introduce peace and prosperity to Iraq only terrorism instead
Of a better and safer life for it's people in the years ahead
No wisdom amongst war men in truth can be said.

So Great To Be Living

How nice for to wake in the dawn cool and gray
And hear the  birds sing for to welcome the day
On the trees in the park by the street near the bay
So great to be living is all one can say
Yellow flowers on the wattles a beautiful thing
In the cool showers of Winter near the calendar Spring
With pink blossoms appearing on the fruit bearing trees
And the dampness of rain in the freshening breeze
The magpies sing at night when the Spring it is near
In the  moonlight their warbling notes pleasant to hear
In late Winter in the Southern Land when the  grass growing winds blow
And Nature wakes from hibernation and grass commence to grow
The calendar Spring just a few weeks away
So great to be living for to greet the new day.

One Without A Tribe

He never harms anyone lives in his own way
And he does not care of what others of him say
One without a tribe he does his own thing
And the praises of anyone he never does sing

To him everyone is the same white, black or brown
And he never looks up to anyone or on anyone never looks down
Quite happy with his lot he never yearns for wealth and renown
He has no wish to be known as a man about town

Not a  member of any local community club
And he never does  socialize at the local pub
Not interested in any sports or in football
Such things  never seem to interest him at all

Yet in is own way he is one who is kind
And people in trouble a friend in him does find
He risked his  life to save Mr and Mrs Zoff's baby daughter in a house fire
And in gratefulness of singing his praises they never do tire

He has no wish that his should become a great name
And he has no desire for wealth, success and fame
Yet the better traits of humanity in him you will find
For he  is down to earth, honorable, noble and kind.

It Is By The Gift Of Chance

It is by the gift of chance that life came to us  before learning to walk the baby must learn to crawl
And on unsteady feet life's first steps must be taken and the baby rise and  walk again after a fall
The ups and downs of life start as a toddler and in life there are many an up and a down
And  there are many who do know of life's fluctuations in every village and city and town
It was George Bernard Shaw who wrote 'Life was not meant to easy' though his words of wisdom to everyone does not apply
Some people by their circumstance of birth very lucky that to be born of wealthy parents a huge advantage none ought to deny
In my birth parents i was one who was quite lucky since my parents though not very wealthy neither were poor
And as a young fellow i grew to love Nature In the old  fields of Claraghatlea  and  Annagloor
We are told by egalitarians that all people are equal though i am one who does  not see it this  way
By fair minded people such words may be spoken but words  as we know are quite easy to say
For the children born to poor parents life becomes a battle many of them find life a struggle until their last day
Due to birth circumstance not destined to be successful they never grow wealthy only poorer and prematurely gray
The baby before walking struggles to stand upwards and so on the foor has to learn how  to crawl
And on unsteady feet life's first steps are taken he or she rise to walk again after a fall.

On Magpie Larks

As familiar to people as the magpie or the pale eyed crow
The  magpie larks are birds every Australian does know
Dainty black and white birds heard and seen every day
Near to where people do live they are happy to stay
The birds known to many by their familiar song of pee wee
Build their cup shaped nest of mud on low branch of tree
The female lays a few pale eggs with spots of light brown
Birds who feel quite at home in the  parks of the town
Familiar to everyone well loved and well known
One can say of them they are Australia's own
In courage one might say they do not lack
For to defend their borders bigger birds they even attack
Familiar to many and familiar to me
Every day of the year them i hear and i see.

Time Ticks Away

You may be  wealthy and famous and good at what you do
But good as you are there is one better than you
The best in the World will eventually be beat
And the one who appreciates victory most is the one who has known of defeat
Some may tell you that you can become a champion if so you wish to choose
But for one to win someone else has to lose
In life more losers than winners would you not agree?
This is how it is and it always will be
The World's number one sports person as number one  does not stay
A younger person will dethrone him or her one day
When i say time leaves the greatest athlete walking slow
I am telling you something that you already know
Your athleticism and good health with you will not stay
Make the most of your young years for time ticks away.

Like Most Other Migrants

Like most other migrants my past has followed me
And an aging bloke from Duhallow is  all i can be
I have been penning rhyme since  nineteen seventy three
Of time quite a span would you not agree
It has been awhile now six years with a score
Since i walked on the roadway that leads to Rathmore
To my first home in Claraghatlea a mile from Millstreet Town
Since  then on many streets i have walked  up and down
In Claraghatlea near Millstreet Town my first home-place
To many today there mine  would be a stranger's face
From the place where i first looked on the light of day
The bug of the wander did  lure me  away
From the silver tongued streams of the dappled brown trout
To the warmer clime of the sunny far south.

One Might Say Differently

 A different lifestyle to your's i have known
And i too have my flaws but my flaws are my own
But in my words i never put anyone down
Though i know some who do enjoy doing this in my side of the town
As long as you never harm others with me you are fine
And what you do in your life no business of mine
I once heard a wise father say to his young son
Help others if you can and never harm anyone
I meet them every day on every street
The people who with each other for success does compete
The praises  of the wealthy and famous they do like to sing
Without realizing that success it can be a relative thing
In your thinking you seem  quite opposite to me
We do look at life  one might say differently.

For Some Life Can Be A Great Battle

For some life  can be a great battle those who survive from day to day
They never dream of great adventure in exotic places far away
They do not have homes for to go to they sleep in the rough every night
They know all about life's great battles since life for them an uphill fight
The off-springs of very poor parents a fair go they never have known
They know what it is lke to be homeless life's battles  they fight on their own
They know  how it feels to be hungry and they know how it feels to sleep rough
Life for them only seems to get tougher when it aready had been tough enough
On drafty disused factory doorways and on park benches they lay at night
They have been homeless since a very young age and for them good times not in sight
Like their parents they will spend their lives in and  out of prison and become institutionalized from prison time
They have  been born into disadvantage the children of the streets of crime
They need not go to war to fight battles they battle in life every day
They only know about the hard life and lady luck never smiles their way.

Duhallow On An August Night

Two miles from the Village of Cullen in the parish of Millstreet
Where the rivers of Araglen and Blackwater do meet
The barn owl out hunting in the  moonlight
Flying on silent wings a predator of the night
In the moonlit fields of Duhallow the hunting fox cry
His wild barking echoing in the silent night sky
Duhallow in Summer on an August night
The trees looking beautiful in the moonlight
In the fields where the rushes in clusters do grow
Where the Araglen into the Blackwater flow
In Duhallow a beautiful time of year
The summer near an end and Autumn is near
Above the moonlit fields in the calm of the night
The barn owl is hunting on silent wings of flight.

We Reap What We Sow

It gives me a great sense of satisfaction when i help someone
To realize for the day a good deed i have done
Every person i help does mean good karma for me
For i believe we reap what we sow though some  with that may disagree
If you can help someone in need of helping by all accounts do
For your every act of kindness means good karma for you
You are rewarded in good karma when you help someone in their time of need
In life you enjoy the good fruits when you plant the good seed
Kindness does beget kindness as some like to say
And  what goes around comes around life is  this way
A saying from the wise you must give to receive
On such a philosophy i do believe
In turn you receive good karma for your every good deed
So always be willing of helping one of your help in need.

I Pen Rhymes For Enjoyment

I have told you in rhyme many times before
I pen rhymes for enjoyment that and nothing more
If i did not enjoy doing it i would give it away
Since for it i never receive any pay
Though it has proved what is known as a hungry belly game for me
I have been penning rhyme since nineteen seventy three
My best days in life to the forever gone
But i do love rhyming and i do rhyme on
I never do pretend that i am a poet
Nor am i one worthy of literary note
I hope to be  rhyming until the day i do die
If i told you otherwise it would be a lie
Like i told you in rhyme many times before
It is  something i do for enjoyment that and nothing more.

Of A Life Of Adventure

Of a life  of adventure i do not have to tell
Though i have drunk of the clear spring water of Tubrid Well
And i have heard the brown larks on evenings in May
Singing above the bog in Claraghatlea from here far away

I have  never been to Berlin or Paris  or Rome
But i have seen great sights  far south of my first home
I have been to where the mountain ash seemingly touch the sky
They stand higher than some birds do venture to fly

Any of the  World's seven wonders i cannot claim to have seen
But in my travels in many towns i have been
And i have worked and mixed with many races far too many to name
To find if you treat people with respect in return they will treat you with the same

I have not seen Lake Baikal the World's largest spring lake
But i have heard the maagpies singing hours before daybreak
In late Winter when the moon lights the far southern sky
To describe in words their beautiful flute like music one can only try

Though i have been on the crowded trains of Tokyo in Japan
I cannot claim to be a well traveled man
And though of my first homeplace i do live far south
Of a life of adventure i cannot talk about.

The Praises Of Nature

The praises of Nature a pleasure for to sing
Such joy to so many she always does bring
The beauty is all around me every day
Of the one who can create new life out of decay
I have loved her since  i was a very young boy
And learning about her is a source of joy
My wonder of her only does seem to grow
Yet so little about her i can claim to know
We never stop learning as some like to say
And with life and Nature it is always this way
The more we know the less we know we know i have  come to realize
But this in itself is not any surprise
Since from an early age her i did admire
Of singing her praises i never do tire.

Though This To Anyone

Though this to anyone is not anything that is new
The majority of the wealth of the World is owned by the few
The  multi rich are rare and millions in poverty
In a fair Human World this would never be

Why somebody's loss can become another's gain
Is something that is beyond me to explain
The gap between the haves and the have not keeps growing ever wide
Far too many people without luck on their side

The poor hungry children of the lesser gods
Are born into life for to battle the odds
A wealthy person is one you will not meet
On the grimy side walks of Poverty Street

It is true that the gift of life comes by chance
But life is like a game of circumstance
Those born to poor parents as poor people usually die
This is a fact of life and fact does never lie.

Napoleon Led The Way

In physical stature by all accounts he was quite small
But when it came to courage Napoleon stood tall
Unlike the war leaders of the World of today
Into battle his men he did lead the way
Of the twenty first century war leaders such courage we never hear of or read
A true leader his men into battle would lead
The last High King of Ireland Brian Boru in battle died
It can be said of him that he went out with pride
The twenty first century war leaders never take part in battles they did instigate
Yet these are the people many see as great
They leave others to fight their wars for them and die
We need fear for survival in their case not a lie
Into battle Napoleon his soldiers led the way
Such is not the case in the World of today.

We All Have Our Stories

Though financially some of us never do well
We all have our stories in life for to tell
Though an autobiography  on your life in book form you may never write
Or as an e book on an internet literary site
The life stories of millions of people have never been told
Those who never grew famous only poorer and old
Though their life journeys for them to nowhere did lead
Their life stories if written would have made a good read
For of their battles against hardship they would have to tell
The people who lived their lives in Earthly Hell
But only stories of the wealthy and famous many do wish for  to hear
The Human World is only for winners or so it does appear
But a life story in everybody's life though with this some may not agree
At least anyway this is how  it seems to me.

The Unfriendly Town

I have no wish to seduce their women or set their homes on fire
Or to harm them in any way i feel no desire
To them i am a stranger one they only visually know
But their  dislike of me in their body language show

They ignore my greeting when i say hello
Stare at me in passing as if i were a  foe
A stranger amongst them and amongst them i will not stay
I will not return not even for a brief holiday

Have you ever been in the unfriendly town
Where the locals without speaking look you up and down
And pass you in silence though their body language say
Go back to where you came from to your town far away?

In the unfriendly town in their silence  they make it clear
To them a stranger is one for to fear
In xenophobia traits the locals do not lack
I was glad on leaving there and to there i won't be going back.

Of What Used To Be

On Sundays in Summer with roses in bloom
On the hill overlooking the football park in Macroom
Millstreet fans  often watched their football team in the Cork senior championship play
This is something that does not happen today
Of a senior County championship Millstreet football fans no longer dream
Since  nowadays Millstreet does not have a senior football team
They only have memories of the  days of old
When in Coachford and Macroom they often did cheer on the famed green and gold
One of the best clubs in Cork county but that was long ago
The used to be great club is no longer so
And only the memories with Millstreet's aging fans remain
Of what used to be but may not be again
Since nowadays they do not stand on the hill in Macroom
To watch their team play when the  flowers are in bloom.

A Natural Occurrence

Most people have  known moments of inner strife
It does seem a natural occurrence in life
Seems almost impossible to be happy every day
To know moments of anxiety is the human way
They are a rare breed those known as the carefree
Though some worry far more than others is how it appears to be
Those who in search of a reasonable form of happiness at finding it does succeed
Can feel justifiably proud of their achievements indeed
So few every day with happiness laugh and sing
For to feel quite sad at times does seem a natural thing
And though you may not be having a  happy day
Laughter can be the best form of medicine as some like to say
And that most people have known moments of inner strife
Does seem a natural occurrence in life.

Of Knocknagree Fair

Most things in life eventually become a fading memory
Like fair day in the high Village of Knocknagree
In view of Clara, Caherbarnagh and Gortavehy's hill of stone
And Goddess Anu's breasts the ancient Paps of Shrone

But only in death memory completely disappear
And in the crowded Village the voices of men and the bellowing of cattle i can hear
And in my nostrils in the cold morning air
The strong smell of animals brought to be sold at the fair

In the high Village in Sliabh Luachra's countryside
Cattle buyers and farmers from places far and wide
In the Village fair field many cattle bought and sold
Of  Knocknagree fair songs written and stories are told

On fair day the farmers felt happy when their cattle they did sell
And the Knocknagree publicans  in alcohol sales did quite well
But fair day in the high Village is now of the past
And few things in life ever does seem to last

The Seasons do come and the Seasons do go
And eventually time becomes everyone's foe
And only the fading memories with me do remain
Of a past in the flesh i cannot visit again.

Just One Word Of Advice

Just one word of advice from one lacking on insight
Live every day as if it were your last and one day you will be right
And try to enjoy life for time ticks on and on
Tomorrow is coming and yesterday has gone
Few wish to know those sad faced and feeling down
They are left to be as sad sacks of the town
The reason sad people not amongst the well known
Is that others do have enough cares of their own
And they need happy people to brighten their day
Since in joy there is light this is the human way
That in joy there is light few would disagree
At least anyhow that's how it seems to me
The one who always has a smile on his or her face
In any sort of company does not feel out of place.

The Reason I Write

There are always things  for to write of every day
The rhymes always seem to keep coming my way
And  though my worth as a rhymer i have reason to doubt
No shortage of things for me to rhyme about
Since they do feel worthy of literary note
I leave  it to others to call themselves poet
Though self praise is no praise it does seem to me
We all see things  differently would you not agree?
For some  see self promotion as quite a good thing
The people their own praises willing to sing
Though financially poor and a stranger to renown
The rhymes come to me and in note book i write them down
And email them into an internet blog site
For my own enjoyment the reason i write.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth by destiny became Britain's Queen
And a lot of life one might say she has seen
In her younger years quite lovely to behold
But time one might say has left her looking old

To many royalists a beloved and familiar face
Elizabeth is a woman who ages with grace
Not vain she does not use hair dyes to cloak her natural gray
She  is one who ages in the natural way

Though many World leaders plaudits on her shower
The Monarch of Britain and it's Commonwealth has restricted power
It is never her decision that young men go to war
To risk serious injury or death in Countries afar

Britain and it's Commonwealth Monarch since the early fifties when she was in her life's prime
And in anyone's language this is a long time
Her coming to the throne was of circumstance
Though born into royalty she became Monarch by chance

Her aged husband Philip a shadow of the man he used to be
He is in the twilight of his mortality
Of his deteriorating health we do read of and hear
The Reaper of lives to him is reaping near

The great grandmother Elizabeth knows of pomp and renown
For many decades she has worn the crown
But for her like us all there will be a last night and day
She is not any different to us in this way.

In Your Battle With Life

You never complain or say that life's unfair
And you manage to smile in the face of despair
And though down in your luck and in financial strife
You just keep on keeping on in your battle with life

For five  months out of work since the factory you worked in closed down
And no hope of a job start in your side of the town
Your  wife left and with her took your young son and daughter when the going got tough
Of living in poverty she felt she had more than enough

But you do not feel bitter her you do not blame
And you never once  do call her out of name
Your financial problems on you have been a heavy drain
But you get on with life and  you never complain

You never may become the  toast of the town
Or enjoy the trappings of wealth and renown
But the battlers of the World your type do inspire
And in you there is a whole pile to admire

You feel things will change for the  better in not too distant day
That the lady of luck will be smiling your way
Though down in your luck and  in financial strife
You keep on keeping on in your battle with life.

Twilight By The Finnow

The small brown lark was caroling as upwards he did fly
An unseen speck of music in the gray evening sky
And in the rushy old field the lowing of a cow
Did fill the evening silence near the waters of Finnow

I only have the memories of the what used to be
And time keeps ticking on and on it does  not wait for me
And the years have left me far south and many miles away
From the old fields by the river at the twilight of the day

The marvelous gift of memory is an amazing thing
It can transport one  far distant to a twilight of the Spring
In fancy i can hear the  babble of the river just after sundown
In that beautiful old countryside just west of Millstreet Town

The bigger World was calling i had dreams to pursue
But the  now is what does matter so happens to be true
Though memories last a lifetime and i recall today
Of twilight by the Finnow on an evening in May.

The One Never Destined To Die

Though in the  field of human endeavour a huge impression by them made
In time even the greats of human history their names from history's pages will fade
On all life forms there is a time  limit but when memories of the last human from history's pages will have gone
The one known to many as Nature will be alive and  living on
The great people of human history may live in history's pages today
But the World far older than written history and in time all things  do fade away
Yet Nature who has lived forever will be  around forever more
Us humans like Autumn leaves in the river flowing onwards to the ocean shore
When we see ourselves as self important to our own selves we only do lie
We are no different to the earth worm since we too are born to die
The monarch may be born with the privileges of one day sitting on the throne
But he or she just a mere mortal just one of flesh and blood and bone
But Nature wil live on forever as the one never destined  to die
I only say of her what is factual and fact as we know does not lie.

My Best Days In Life

My best days in life to the forever gone
But like every rhymer i keep rhyming on
I never do pretend for to be a poet
Nor am i one worthy of any literary note
The rhymes  keep coming to me the reason i do write
And i email my stuff to an internet blog site
Just something i love doing and why should i give away
Something i do enjoy doing every day
The day i stop rhyming is the day i will die
If i did tell you different that would be a lie
Though well into my sixties time telling on me
I have been a  rhymer since nineteen seventy three
And i do realize now that time is my foe
Since that is going back some four decades ago.

Dave

In his younger years he yearned for love and success and to be well off financially
But in his life's twilight years he has none  of the three
Suppose for him in life these were not meant to be
These things were not meant for him in his life's destiny

Without children and without love  in his life
The woman he loved did not become his wife
She loved another better which reduced him to tears
And the mental pain of lost love lingered with him for years

Dave  in his late seventies now showing time's decay
His face and hands with age wrinkles his hair silver gray
One might say that he has known a  better day
Time becomes everyone's foe as the wise one did say

Alone in life and he lives on his own
The disappointments of unfulfilled ambitions  he  has known
But he is a nice man in his own gentle way
And he does  try to make the most of every day.

On Alan Seeger's Rendezvous With Death

Alan Seeger wrote of his Rendezvous With Death his prophetic words for him came true
He went to war as a young man and death became his due
To die young in war as he did part of his life's destiny
Though many with this would not agree this is how it seems to me

The late President John F Kennedy did love that poem it was often read to him by Jacqueline his wife
He too died young under gunfire his destiny in life
That we can manipulate our destiny in life some see it in this way
Whether this be right or this be wrong is not for me to say

Alan Seeger was an adventurous young man a literary person of note
He left America when he was young and led the life of a wandering poet
His chivalry and sense of adventure led him to the  battlefields of Europe the  brave often die young
His best poems yet not written and his best songs yet not sung

Alan Seeger wrote of his Rendezvous With Death near a century ago
He was not destined for to grow old for time to become his foe
His death a loss to the Literary World to it he had so much to give
Suppose only those with some sense of fear to an old age do live.

Port Fairy

For scenery and beauty a place of renown
Of many tourists Port Fairy is a favorite Town
Griffith Island where the short tail shearwaters in Spring come to breed
Is in it's own right a tourist attraction indeed
To Port Fairy's renowned Music Festival in the Fall of the year
People flock to there from places far and near
For three days of enjoyment and festive fun
In the warmth of the Autumn in the south western Victoria's sun
Voted the most livable small Town in the world a great achievement indeed
For the community council members of Port Fairy other towns councils like them do need
A fine old coastal Town with a charm of it's own
For it's hospitable people Port Fairy is widely known
The gem of south west Victoria from Warrnambool City twenty kilometers not much more
By the Moyne River  near the Pacific shore.

In Fancy Again

In the old fields i will never again hear the angelus bell
Or drink of the clear spring water of Tubrid Well
Or hear the babble of the silver tongued rill
Or climb to the cross at top of Clara Hill
Or on a leafy birch tree in late April in Spring
Hear the nesting male robin proclaiming his territory sing
Or see the hawthorns cloaked in their white blooms of the May
Though the memory of such things until death with me will stay
And on a Summer's evening hear the curlew piping above Matty Owen's bog
Where as a boy i often hunted with Pudsy the brown dog
In cemeteries in Duhallow from here far away
Many of my boyhood mentors in eternal rest lay
And only the memories with me does remain
Of a past i can only visit in fancy again

Mary Long

A good mother to her children and to Jer Long a good wife
Mary long was a woman who did laugh at life
She was such a nice person so generous and kind
And her very equal would be hard to find
A sad day for Millstreet when she left Annagloor
Without her the place it did seem far more poor
Many years have gone by since she passed away
And everyone who knew her remembers her today
That she was even happy when times were tough
As a person in life quite successful enough
When she left Annagloor's loss had to be Kerry's gain
And memories of the woman she was with me does remain
 The challenges of life with gusto she did embrace
She always did have a big smile on her face.

Only In Fancy

Only in fancy i can hear the silver tongued rill
Babbling down the high green fields by Clara Hill
At the start of it's journey to the Atlantic shore
Some 80 k's from it's source maybe more

And only in fancy i can hear the robin sing
On a leafy alder tree in prime of Spring
When the hawthorns are in their white blooms of the May
And wildflowers are in the old fields far away

In the coarse meadow where the rushes in clusters grow
Only in fancy i can hear the male pheasant crow
Aloof and contented in his own company
He leaves the hen bird on her own to raise the family

On a calm evening in Summer just before sundown
In a field walking distance west of Millstreet Town
In fancy i can hear the lowing of a cow
In the gathering twilight by the River Finnow

But the now is all that should matter for the past it has gone
And life all around me as usual goes on
And only the memories of what was with me does remain
And only in fancy i visit the old fields again.

The Pride Of Koroit Town

With sloe blue eyes and shoulder length wavy hair of brown
She is indeed the Pride of Koroit Town
And friendly and down to earth as most Koroitians are
To find her equal one would have to travel far
So beautiful and happy and seemingly carefree
Near the prime of her life she is only twenty three
On Commercial Road her i do often see
She always smiles and says good day to me
One i see often though not every day
And she greets everyone in the same way
One can only hope in Koroit she does stay
That the bug of wander will not lure her away
From Koroit Town 18 k's from Warrnambool
Where she first looked on light of day and went to school.

One Can Only Visualize

One can only visualize the scent of new mown hay
On a cold and wet and windy Winter's day
The August sky is overcast and gray
And yet the calendar Spring is just four weeks away
And yet the bird who sings every day and some nights of the year
The magpie's voice melodious and clear
His kind's warbling notes so pleasant for to hear
Quite often heard at night when Spring is near
And in the park a bird i often hear and see
The dainty magpie lark does sing pee wee
And on the streets of the old country town
The cars and trucks keep buzzing up and down
In the drizzling rain the wind soughing in the trees
On a cold August day of a high of ten degrees.

Of My Many Walks

Of my many walks i can truthfully say
That from Nature i learn something new every day
And the more i learn of her the more i have come to realize
That there is far more to her than does meet the eyes
Her wonders are many and her secrets not few
And every day from her we learn something new
And though my wonderment of her it only does grow
So little about her i realize i do know
The one with the unrivaled creative powers
She creates things of beauty like the trees and the flowers
Her Earth provides for all life forms including humans the food for survival they need
The one who creates food from a tiny seed
The mother of all life forms the great and the small
And she is the one who does outlive them all

Young Jim

The young Jim's of this World to say the least rare
At twenty three years one without a care
Without a trade or career plan or uni degree
Yet of any worries he is one who is free
He does not have children or he does not have a wife
Yet he is one of the few who does laugh at life
So much to like about in likeable young Jim
And the World to live in a better place due to people like him
He works for four days of the week in a timber yard which does suit him fine
And at the weekend enjoys a few bottles of wine
Like life he does not take love too seriously  he enjoys the odd sexual fling
To him to be happy is the most important thing
He does not take life seriously makes the most of every day
Laughter is the best medicine with Jim it is this way.

On Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning a young person is in deep strife
He may be in jail for the rest of his life
For exposing the U S Government branch of national security for spying
A government who when speaking of free speech are obviously lying
On believing that Government  intelligence spying on other Nations is morally wrong
Bradley Manning to a rare breed of people belong
To him to expose U S Intelligence of spying is morally right
The one seen by many as a traitor in reality not a lesser light
Than those who choose to judge him for what he did are
Though from the U S borders his fame has traveled far
But this of little use to him since he may die in jail
And his was hardly a fair trial since he was refused bail
For his courage and morality Bradley manning does pay
And this indeed does seem a sad thing to say.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Yesterday like the day before it to the forever has gone
But wherever you go to your past follows on
Your past will follow you until the day you will die
This is a fact of life and fact never lie
For your crimes against others if to human made law you do not pay
Then sooner or later Karma will surely catch up with you one day
Poor seed into good fruit it never does grow
And in Karma you always do reap what you sow
Yes you reap what you sow in life does seem so true
And of the seeds we sow in life the fruits we are due
And if you sow good seed good fruit you receive
On the laws of Karma i am one who does believe
What you put into life you receive in return one day
What goes around comes around as some do say.

Avoca In Victoria

Reminds me a bit of poet Thomas Moore's song
To the near Earthly Utopia type places Avoca in Victoria belong
Though Avoca in Wicklow half of a World north of Avoca in Victoria the great poet wrote about
There may be similarities between them no doubt
The gem of Victoria's Pyrenees countryside it's just claim to renown
Avoca a beautiful old country Town
A quiet part of the World where peace and beauty meet
Many miles inland from the noisy  big city street
Many who live in quiet small towns many miles from anywhere
Feel no desire for to travel in the big World out there
Many in Avoca in Victoria greet you with a smiling face
Seemingly happy in their lives in their beloved home-place
Avoca in Victoria with a charm of it's own
In the flat green countryside for it's beauty widely known.

Though Her Ideas

Though her ideas are different to mine
What she does think suits me fine
She looks at things differently to me
But then most of us see life differently
And having this said how boring we would be
If on all things we all did agree
Most of us are individuals in our own way
You are what you are one might say
Many of us with each other for success do compete
For to be the best on the street
And better than this to be best in the town
Or even better to know of National or Worldwide renown
So few of us in our lives do seem the same
Though most of us do yearn for wealth and fame.

Castlemaine

The once home of Jack Doolin the famous and notorious bush ranger
To history Castlemaine in Central Victoria is not a stranger
Of decades long gone the men who mined for gold there the inspiration of song and story
Of triumph and failure in their quest for glory
An old Colonial Town that is known to many
Of another town quite like it i do not know of any
A Town home to people of different races
To live in one could not find many better places
Many of the people of Castlemaine in their ways quite charming
The warmth in their greetings one can say disarming
A Town i have visited often but would like to live in for longer
With every visit to Castlemaine my bond to it grows stronger
A town that was once home to many a gold miner
Than Castlemaine in Central Victoria you will not find one finer.

We All Have Our Journeys

We all have our journeys in life for to follow
And mine it did take me far south of Duhallow
To the home of marsupials and of Nature a wonder
The land known to some as Australia and to some as Down Under
A land that has inspired many a song and story
As the home of a very old race of people one of it's claims to glory
Far south of where i lived as a wild young fellow
Youth does have it's fling and time leaves us mellow
For years i have not seen the Boggeragh Ranges
And i know that to my first homeplace time would have brought changes
Twenty six years ago my ties with it i did sever
And many of the people i knew there at peace lay forever
We all have our journey in life for to follow
And mine it did take me far south of Duhallow.

Money Is Most Important

He wrote love poems to her the one he called Honey
But she would have liked him better if he had more money
Since love poems could not buy her gin or vodka and dinner
And she consider one short of money a loser and a loser not a winner

When he asked her on a date she gave him the cold shoulder
And now she is dating one than her fifty years older
One in his mid seventies and not very healthy
But he happens to be one of the town's wealthy

He treats her as a princess to him than her none finer
Spends lots of money on her he wine and he dine her
And on her young poetic suitor though his time on poetry on her he has invested
Due to his lack of money on him she is not interested.

She loves him for his millions for her good times he is paying
And that money is most important it ought to go without saying
The young man by her smitten since the first time he met her
But due to his money she likes the old fellow better.

What I Find So Enjoyable

Since i commenced writing rhyming stuff way back in my life's prime
Some four decades of years ago that does seem a long time
I have written near twelve thousand since a lot of rhyming stuff
For forty years a rhymer and for longer a rhyming buff
Since then a lot of things have happened and many Seasons gone
But to rhyming i remain addicted and i keep rhyming on
I have written longer and short rhymes and rhyming sonnets all easy for to write
Such stuff quite easy for to read and easy for to recite
I find rhyming quite enjoyable and it has served me well
I always feel happy in myself when penning doggerel
I used to daydream years ago that i might be a poet
Though i have not even become one of minor literary note
But what i find so enjoyable why should i wish to give away
And i hope i will be writing stuff on my life's final day
For rhyming makes me as happy as i can wish to be
And i will keep on doing the things that does bring joy to me.

That Most Of Us Need Recognition

That most of us need recognition happens to be true
And such should be forthcoming if this is their due
But in a World of self promotion it does seem to me
Not everyone are as valued as they ought to be
In the twenty first century the value of self promotion is never in doubt
In a World where many of the humble of recognition lose out
Most of us need recognition so happens to be true
Though some do say what we receive from life happens to be our due
We all cannot be wealthy and know of great fame
Though at the end of our life's journey to us all it will be the same
In life of the karma we do sow the fruits we do receive
I must admit i am one of those who on such who does believe
Most of us need recognition this is how it is meant to be
But that not everyone gets the credit they deserve would you not agree?

He Was A Great Footballer

He was a great footballer as a young man
But this is going back in years quite a span
Over half of a century quite a long time ago
And time eventually does become everyone's foe
One who was often the recipient of a loud hooray
Three times the best on ground  on grand final day
But the fastest and best by time rendered slow
Am i telling you something that you already know
The old bloke who slowly shuffles down the street
In his younger years a fine frootballer athlete
He only has memories of his glorious past
And few things in life ever do seem to last
Three times best on ground on grand final day
For him in the past many a loud hooray.

I Was Raised In The Home

I was raised in the home to badger and gray crow
Where dark brown water bird dipper with breast white as snow
Sings in the stream that flows to the river down the field by the hill
With babbling tongue that is never still

The light of day for the first time i saw
In the home to the raven and rook and jackdaw
Where in the flat riverside fields often wet from flood overflow
The rushes quite rank in clusters do grow

I grew to love Nature when i was a boy
And learning of her ways today i enjoy
Where i first got to know many birds by their song
Some of them once heard one could never again get wrong

I was raised in the home to the shy mountain hare
Though not often seen their kind were not rare
And only the memories with me do remain
Of a past i can only visit in fancy again.

The Future Is Unknown

The future it surely is the great unknown
And the seeds of it by some in the present sown
Even in tough financial times many survive somehow
The best you can do is make the most of the now
Seers claim they can look into the future but this i do doubt
And the now is all that is worth worrying about
Why stress yourself in worrying of what lay ahead
When you and me like all others will end up as dead
You may have lost most of the energy of your youthful elan
But the best you can do is live for as long as you can
Though of a glorious death the song makers do sing
The great gift of life is a wonderful thing
For the future is unknown despite what some may say
So do try for to make the most of your day.

The Songs Of The Magpies

It never fails to fill my mind with delight
The songs of the magpies on a moonlit Winter's night
At the start of their breeding Season when the Spring is near
Their night territorial piping so pleasant to hear
The warbling notes always melodious and clear
Of the birds who do sing every day of the year
And on their breeding Season they sing night and day
To compete with each other in song does seem to be their way
Fairly large black and white birds around the size of a crow
There would not be an Australian who of them does not know
You hear them sing once you never more get them wrong
The aggressive birds with the beautiful song
In late Winter at the start of their breeding Season and into the Spring
By night and by day one does hear them sing.

The Judgements Of Others

The judgements of others with me suits me fine
For what they think of me no business of mine
I am what i am this is all i can be
And what others think of me no bother to me
I have no desire to be the most popular one in the town
Why should i wish to yearn for such a renown
The monarch may be born for to wear the crown
But the less who know of you the less in words to put you down
Us people can be judge-mental it does seem fair to say
And of course we are judged by others every day
And to what others think of you why should you lose any sleep
Since they too have their destiny with karma to keep
And what others think of you then you can have it from me
That this is not your business would you not agree?

I Feel Very Happy To Be Living

I feel happy to wake in the morning and know that i am very much alive
The Reaper's of lives is not looking my way one needs luck in life to survive
And i feel very lucky to be living since many younger and fitter than me with the dead
I only take each day as it comes to me and i never do look too very far ahead

I was a young schoolboy of the fifties the fifties now a long time ago
Back then my best years in the future but time since then it has become my foe
Some of the boys and girls of my boyhood in their final resting places do lay
And in the place i was born and raised in i might feel a stranger there today

We are on our separate life journeys that for most of us does not lead to fortune and to fame
And all of us in our ways not quite similar we would be boring if we were the same
And this the only life that i do know of though many tell me post bodily death good souls have wings to fly
To where their god does live this place called heaven a paradise somewhere beyond the sky

I do feel happy to wake in the morning and hear the birds of Nature chirp and sing
To know i am in the the World of the living for the gift of life it is a marvelous thing
This morning  some did not wake to see the dawning  for all of us a final night and day
And i feel very happy to be living though the clock on my life ticks and ticks away.

Born To Rule

They mostly apply to the male kind the words born to rule
Some people with great power are known to be cruel
The autocratic leader with power gone to his head
Those who did oppose him you will find with the dead
The great lust for power can lead to acts of shame
The guilty of crimes against humanity are too many to name
Those who did oppose them in mass graves decay
For opposing the regime in their deaths they did pay
The first child of a monarch is born to rule one day
And most of this sort in their ways are okay
It is those who come to power by the gun can cause widespread fear
Of some of them terrible stories we do hear
They believe that they were born to life for to rule
The reason for them to be murderous and cruel.

This Is How It Is

So many books written and so many stories told
Of the heroes of battles the fearless and bold
They went out to kill and they died under fire
And for the way that they died many them do admire

The men who went to battle for Country and Flag
Of their noble war heroes the nationalists and patriots may brag
And they are remembered at every war parade
And respect in silence for them when the last post is played

The brave dead honored and remembered with a sense of pride
We are told it was for the freedom of others they died
But many asylum seekers in boats that persecution do flee
Like common criminals are treated as prisoners and not allowed to live free

It is not for the incarceration of good living asylum seeking people that brave men did die
But then your idea of freedom to me is a lie
But since one person's weed to another is a rose
We must agree to differ one would have to suppose

The praises of dead war heroes many may sing
But patriotism like nationalism is an emotive thing
And no freedom or justice for many a refugee
This is how it is in this the twenty first century.

The Old Loddon River

It was a mighty river according to old Joe
When he was a youngster seven decades ago
But climate change it seems has become the foe
Of the Loddon that has lost some of the depth of it's flow

In central Victoria by many a country town
The old Loddon river in waters of dark brown
Through flat and dry paddocks that are often bare
In this part of Australia long spells of rainfall are rare

Where years ago in pre big machine times prospectors mined for gold
Stories of their successes and disappointments in book form have been told
Some of them became wealthy but many of them died in poverty
Not all can be winners is how human life seems to be

The old Loddon river that has inspired story and rhyme
An old waterway even in the Dreamtime
It flows in the land of long bill corella of the race of white cockatooo
Where Australia's first people hunted emu and roo

Through bare and dry paddocks by night and by day
The Loddon flows on towards the sea far away
Not the river it once was according to Joe
It has shrunk in depth since a few decades ago.

The Knowledgeable And Wise

It is said that knowledge and wisdom it does come with age
But in years i am closer to seventy than sixty and i am not a sage
And of many i know of  my age i can say the same
With knowledge and wisdom few that i can name

Knowledgeable and wise people are people who know
That knowledge and wisdom on bushes and trees does not grow
The more you know the less you know you know they have come to realize
It takes humility for to become knowledgeable and wise

With a good education some knowledge you will gain
But wisdom does seem much harder to attain
One without a good education can be as wise as can be
In some ways they are different it does seem to me

The knowledgeable and wise of the World in the few
To this you may well say tell us what is new
As news headline makers they are never to the fore
But of their sort the Human World is in need of far more.

Do You Ever Feel

Do you ever feel your life's journey is leading you to nowhere
And though you have seen a bit of the big World out there
You are still a nobody in an ordinary town
Without even a small claim to local renown

In your early thirties just beyond your life's prime
And though you feel your luck may change for the better in time
Of late you have not been doing anything but well
Of any happiness or success you do not have to tell

For you in your life nothing is going to plan
Your ex wife and young son and daughter are living  with a wealthy aging man
A prosperous future with you she could not foresee
That with money speaks every language one would have to agree

No luck in your search for work and surviving on welfare
Your sort of person nowadays are no longer rare
But hope in your mind for a better life is not dead
And you feel better times of you are ahead.

The Future Belongs To The Young

As some people do grow older with hair dye they cloak their gray
And with anti aging creams they smooth away the wrinkles of time's decay
But pride does not keep them living one day longer time on them does tick away
And those who will be humanity's future are the children of today
The young look to the future and they have dreams to pursue
But many of them realize later on  in life that all dreams do not come true
And some will even tell you we receive from life what is our due
But fame and success should not make one more equal than me or you
Since the Reaper the great equalizer any life does not spare
He claims the life of the poor and homeless and the billionaire
The monarch and the president the Reaper does treat the same
As those who live in poverty and are strangers to fame
And though the praises of aging heroes by their admirers may be sung
It is a fact the future does belong to the young.

Back There In The Nineteen Fifties

There have been so many stories of Duhallow's fighting men
Such as the heroes of the ambush at Tureengarriffe Glen
When Kiskeam's Sean Moylan was carving his own renown
One who was admired and famous in many a Cork and Kerry town

Back in the nineteen fifties as a primary school going boy
The stories of aging story tellers was a thing i did enjoy
On the long Winter evening by the glowing peat fire
Of listening to them talking of their young years one could never tire

Stories of their sporting heroes with pride they did recall
Such as Dungourney's Jamesy Kelleher a champion with the hurling ball
He was Ireland's greatest hurler when  he was in his prime
In the early twentieth century and that is going back in time

But the past in the forever gone and the old story tellers are long dead
And i am an aging fellow old age of me looms ahead
And they were not short of talent a good story they could tell
Back there in the nineteen fifties as i remember well.

Life Works In This Way

Most people interested in the accumulation of money that leads to success and fame
The pauper like all paupers lives and dies as an almost unknown name
But many wealthy people are never satisfied
That us humans are hard to please cannot be denied
Though financially well off in spirit quite down
And of the wealthiest of the wealthy in the wealthy side of the town
But poor in his ways he does seem to be
He suffers from what is known as mind poverty
There is a moral in the story of the king who wanted to sleep in the shirt of a happy man
His scouts to find such a fellow the countryside did scan
But they came back to tell the king the only happy person they did find
Was not wearing a shirt and did not seem right in his mind
Most people interested in making money but it does seem fair to say
That they cannot buy happiness since life works in this way.

Some People In Their Minds

Some people in their minds are callous and cold
But there is some good in the worst as we have been told
And it goes without saying in this there is some truth
There is even some good in the one who is without ruth
It is said that evil is nurtured within
The confines of the mind but all babies are born without sin
But some in their young years have been treated bad
And have been forsaken by their mum or their dad
And many of those who as children have known of a hard time
In their late teens and early twenties do turn to crime
And usually find themselves behind bars in jail
By their circumstances of birth they are destined to fail
To succeed in life they could not beat the odds
The poor homeless children of the lesser gods.

The Price Of Votes

Kevin Rudd when deposed by Julia Gillard as P M of Australia warned his party not to lurch to the right
But like the true politician of his words he made light
When he deposed Gillard as Prime Minister  he made a quick policy change
Suppose the lust for political power  does make people act strange

Even more to the right than the Liberal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott never thought i would see the day
That a Labor led Government in Australia would behave in such a way
Towards poor and stateless people who oppressive governments did flee
In Australia no welcome for a boat refugee

In Australia conservative voters are in majority
The people who seem lacking in empathy
Their votes the next Government of Australia will decide
And the Labor Government on harsh asylum seeker policies  are trying to keep them on side

Asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia no longer allowed to stay
Sent to be processed in asylum detention centers in Asia this does seem sad to say
From Australia's shores they are turned away
For a looming Federal Election in Australia the poor Stateless made to pay.