All I Can Be

I have written of people of Millstreet and Duhallow from here far away
And of places i have not seen for many a day
And of the natural beauty that i have seen
In the woods and the old fields that ever look green
My friends of the past i may never more see
But life in Duhallow goes on without me
And bluebells and snowdrops and primroses in Spring will bloom on the ditch of the bohreen
I only can visualize Nature's beauty i have seen
At the doorstep in years of the three score and ten
Another member of the club of aging men

Though i did have my youth and youth does have it's fling
But for one the realization of aging is a humbling thing
How boring life would be without a few laughs a day
And life is what you make of it as the wise one does say
I am not the first Duhallow migrant and i will not be the last
In moments of nostalgia for to reflect on the past
It was the lust for wander and adventure that took us from Hibernia's shore
And for some for to return to there never more
I last looked on Clara twenty seven years ago
And in this Southern Land  time has become my foe
But the Duhallow accent does remain with me
And a Claraghatlea fellow is all i can be.