Do Not Ask Me

Do not ask me who is or is not a poet

Or who should or not be seen as worthy of literary note

My words do not hold any weight i have come to realize

And it is not for me to say who should be short listed for any literary prize

So many writers compete for literary renown

For to be known and famous far beyond their hometown

But what we wish for in life seldom becomes our due

And for most writers their dreams do seldom come true

Literary critics are well paid for to criticize

And their favourable comments have helped many a writer from obscurity to rise

For to scale the heights of literary fame

And for themselves make a great literary name

And since for my opinions i never receive any pay

Who is or is not a good writer is not for me to say.

With Everyone You Cannot Be Friends

With everyone you cannot be friends this is life one does suppose

For she or he to have some good friends they must also have some foes

The saying the enemy of your enemy can become your friend seems hard with to disagree

This is how  it is and it was and  how it always will be

Though your friends do grow in numbers there will always be the few

Who do not like you as a person and this is not saying anything that is new

You cannot be all things to all people humanity does not works on this way

In this respect it was always this way and this is how it is today

Friendships are grown on similar interests it is this way Worldwide

Political allegiances and sense of values people are known to divide

Many things change over time but some things remain as the same

And of friendships that have failed the time test far too many for to name

That everyone cannot be your friend a truism from the past

And change as ever keeps on happening few things as they were ever last,

What Defines Success

What defines success ask one other than me

Though success entails the accumulation of money and property many would agree

In the twenty first century money fame with it bring

Of the praises of poor people anyone never does sing

It is true that for the very wealthy minority

That many people Worldwide live in dire poverty

And though poverty is a thing anyone does not choose

In the Human World for one to grow very wealthy many have to lose

Money that many associate with success among human populations create inequality

Make of it what you may but this is how it seems to be

That for one to grow wealthy comes at others expense

This is something i find quite hard of to make sense

In a World where many people are homeless and sleep rough and hungry at night

There is something about this that is just not right

Those well meaning people who claim we are all born equal believe in a lie

Though we all become equal on the day we do die

Money and the power it does bring a huge part in success does play

This is one thing that has not changed over time in truth one can say

But what defines success ask one other than me

For with majority thinking on this i just cannot agree.

Davey McAuliffe

In Kiskeam Davey McAuliffe from a boy grew to a man

And in Millstreet he spent many years of his life span

About him he did have such a happy way

The Davey Macs are rare in truth one can say

Of alcohol one who did drink his own share

But even quite pleasant when drunk his type are so rare

A humorous fellow he was larger than life

One who grew old without children or a partner or wife

Wherever he was at joy was to be found

He carried it with him and shared it around

Every day of his life new friends he did win

He had good jokes to tell and good yarns to spin

His passing from life did not go without tears 

And good memories of him will outlive him for years.

On An Online Photo Of Dan O' Leary

In his physical prime many Seasons since then

In Millstreet Town Dan O' Leary was a man amongst men

A fearless defender in Hurling and Gaelic Football

On the field of play he always gave it his all

A likeable fellow who was widely known

It can be said of Dan he was one of Millstreet's own

An old online photo of him brings back a memory

Of the man that he was in the what used to be

Dan O' Leary lived as a great person to give him his due

And to his higher self he was one who was true

Though among the deceased of the Parish his last remains lay

His spirit is present when Millstreet line out to play

A Duhallow hero of the days of old

One who with pride did wear the Millstreet green and gold

A fearless and strong man in his physical prime

Memories of him live on through the Seasons of time

For everyone in life a last night and day

Even for the great Dan O' Leary a final hooray

To the ways of time he is one who has gone

But in Duhallow fond memories of him does live on.

One Of those Regular Blokes

 He is what is known as one of those regular blokes

And he always likes laughing at his own jokes

In the pub banter a leader by his own choice

He does seem to like the sound of his own voice

Of late one not seen in the local pub at all

And all because of a game of football

With the local club in the the Grand Final he played a poor game

Quite normal behaviour when the ego is in shame

No longer one of the loud voices of the town

His ego deflated since he left the club down

His deflated ego keeps his tongue at bay

About himself now he has nothing to say

Missing from the pub on a Saturday night

Where he used to be quite vocal and a regular sight.

We Are Told

We are told people from life receive what is only their due

But in many instances this is not true

To the poor of the World this does not apply

Their circumstance of birth of a fair go in life them deny

So many poor people due to no fault of their own are hungry and homeless today

That their future seems bleak only true to say

Some of them will not live to reach their physical prime

To be born into poverty is not a crime

It should not be hard for anyone to believe

That not everyone a fair go from life does receive

In a World where the financially wealthy many impress

Few climb out of poverty to the summit of success

And it is only saying what happens to be so

That everyone from life does not receive a fair go.

For Human Progress

Squashed by the traffic left to rot where they lay

The wildborn creatures that die on the roadway

Some of them their species on the extinction brink

This is quite sad even of for to think

With the increased motorized vehicle traffic of the twenty first century

Everyday on the roadway dead animals and birds one does see

At a time when many species in numbers decreasing even those common in their range

Due to habitat destruction as well as Climate Change

Something most people of would be aware

By the year many wildlife species becoming rare

Any child of the future sadly may never see

A koala eating leaves on a manna gum tree

With Climate Change and habitat destruction and deaths on the roadway

Wildlife numbers are on the decrease by the day

Many species endangered which seems sad to say

And for human progress this the price we do pay.

Not That Hard To Explain

Somebody's loss is another's gain

Is something that is not that hard to explain

And though losing is a thing anyone does not choose

For one to win others have to lose

For every millionaire many in poverty

This is how it is and how it always will be

The social gap as ever keeps on growing wide

And it seems only the wealthy have god on their side

The accumulation of money is seen as quite an important thing

Of the praises of the wealthy so many does sing

Life is so hard on the financially down

And no shortage of them in any city or town

To be wealthy and famous so many desire

And the poor are the people so few does admire.

On All Seasons Of Nature

On all Seasons of Nature there is beauty to see

A beauty to view that is monetary free 

And every day of her we learn something new

Her lessons we can say are not of the few

Nature one can say has ways of her own

And so much about her remains as unknown

She is the beauty that Mother Earth wear

Beauty that none other with can compare

The artists and writers she does inspire

And of singing her praises it does seem hard to tire

She helps Mother Earth to grow the food to live we do need

Nature to us is a true friend indeed

Human greed for money is not a source for joy

When we harm Mother Earth Nature's beauty we destroy

Because of us wildlife becoming rare

Of our own needs we seem only aware

Our wonderment of her it only does grow

And all things about her we will never know

The one who helps Mother Earth to create a beautiful flower

She will always be the World's number one super power.

Laughter

That laughter is the best of medicine as a truism live today

As an antidote to worry laughter a huge part does play

If you do not like the sound of laughter in your mind for joy not any space

One of the great gifts of humanity laughter belongs to every race

My neighbour's wife i often hear laughing with her children as she does play

Listening to them in their backyard helps to bring joy to my day

Those who do have laughter in them are happy to share it around

They even bring smiles to sour faces it is such a happy sound

Those who have the gift of laughter credit to them only due

Laugh and the whole World laughs with you does remain an ever true

Those who laugh regularly lucky people they do have the inner glow

They do make friends rather easily others of them wish to know

It is surely one of the greatest gifts bestowed on humanity

An uplifting human feeling few with this would disagree.

The Things We Dislike In Others

The things you dislike in others in your own self you do see

Words from a long deceased wise one that many with would disagree

Words of wisdom through the decades live on in the memory

We can see our flaws in others is how it does seem to be

The things we dislike in others we dislike in ourselves as well

In the World of the judgmental this seems a hard idea to sell

Our flaws we do see in others one reason i do not like her or he

The things in them i do not like neither do i like in me

I do not like show off people though their sort i meet every day

Do i suppress this need in me maybe in truth i can say

True enough most of us are flawed the near perfect are a rare kind

We can see the flaws in others but to our own flaws we are blind

And the flaws we dislike in others in our own selves we do see

Wisdom from a long deceased person that many with would disagree.

Jane

Not one of the town's attractive women even in her physical prime

Yet Jane she is one who has aged well despite the passing of time

Long wavy grey hair to her shoulders ageing in the natural way

Down to earth without airs and graces to everyone she says good day

A State registered nurse one kind and caring she works hard for her every pay

And when not working in her paid job in her community work her part she does play

In helping the town's poorest people she leads in the fight against poverty 

A woman in her early sixties she treats the poor as family

A single woman without children people like Jane are so rare

On that in the needs of poor people she is one who is aware

Her sort of person goes unnoticed helping those doing it tough in life is her thing

To the town's very poorest people some happiness she tries to bring

She is such a marvellous person generous and compassionate and kind

Physical beauty only skin deep Jane has beauty in her mind.

On Grey Fantails

Small birds one sees often though not every day

With white under throat and mostly light grey

In cup shaped nest of grass bound with spiders webs on low fork of tree

The female lay one to four brown dotted grey eggs from the ground not hard to see

With their long grey tails fanned out and wagging as they fly around

As they pursue flying insects quite close to the ground

Always on the move though they seem almost tame

Grey fantails for them does seem an apt name

Of humans they do not seem to have much fear

Before flying off they allow you to them to come near

At breeding time they does treat none as a friend

And with aggression their nests they defend

These endearing small birds restless and energetic for their size

That i have grown to love them i have come to realize.

Tim

Most of the women he made love to if living are ageing old dears

Tim has been around for many years

Perhaps in his mid eighties balding and gray

He is one who has known of a far better day

He cannot say if he has fathered children he never had a wife

Though many women have come to and gone from his life

But those days one can say are long over for Tim

It does seem that time it has caught up on him

His last lover left him a few years ago

For everyone a last happens for to be so

A member and fan of the local football club

And he still enjoys a few beers in the local pub

Where to his much younger pub mates he tells stories of his past

And of the good times for him that did not last

With a few beers in and in the mood for song

He always joins in the chorus of the sing along

The women he made love to well past their physical prime

And Tim too has become a victim of time

In the local pub well liked and well known

An octogenarian he lives on his own.

Time As Ever

Time as ever does keep on ticking away 

And for all of us there is a last night and day

The fact is we are born as mortals and fact never lie

And the longer you live the sooner you will die

You may be a person of great wealth and fame

But the Reaper of lives will treat you as the same

As the poor one who lives on the poor side of the town

In poverty and as a stranger to renown

Life is the greatest gift anyone does possess

Far greater than any other form of success

The poorest one in the town is far better off today

Than the wealthiest one who with the deceased does lay

Though life on you is very tough do not contemplate suicide

Leave it to the Reaper of lives your end to decide.

A Place Of Great Beauty

A place of great beauty and a peaceful retreat

Away from the noisy traffic of the street

Where for material gain humans with each other compete

In the quiet countryside where the waterways meet

On an evening in October in the Southern Spring

The wildborn nesting birds whistle and sing

The weather not waarm or cold but pleasantly cool

And on the dark waters of a quiet river pool

The dark baby moorhens swimming with their dark parents near

The sound of their chirping so pleasant to hear

Of the birds that do sing every day of the year

The warblings of the magpies on the high trees melodious and clear

In the quiet of the evening just before sundown

Away from the traffic of the noisy town.

The Wisdom Of Pad The Master

The wisdom of Pad The Master is with me today 

I often does think of what he used to say

Like loudmouthed grown males never matured from naughty boys

And empty vessels always make the most of noise

Pad who never spent many years in school

Was quite wise and knowledgeable and nobody's fool

He used to say jealousy was admiration in disguise

And that small minded people will never grow wise

He was an aged mentor in my young years in life

One who never had children or a partner or wife

But he was a fellow who had learned from life's every page

Old Pad he was surely Claraghatlea's last sage

Back then in his seventies his hair silver gray

In my memory Pad he is living today

For one of little education so much by him known

He was one who was in a class of his own

When i was a boy many decades ago

Time it had become Pad The Master's foe

Among the dead of Millstreet his last remains lay

Yet memories of him remain with me today.

Leave It To Others

Just carry on in life on doing your own thing

And leave it to others your praises to sing

Though  self promotion with many the in thing nowadays

And people reap the rewards of  their self praise

Yes self praise for you may work rather well

But that may only be of time for a short spell

And though self praise in any way is not a crime

You cannot fool all of the people all of the time

For the greatest bragger of the twenty first century

A Worldwide self praise competition would be a good idea

So many into talking of the self on quite a big way

On talkback radio one does hear them every day

They have an overuse of the i and the me

And they will never win a prize for humility.

Forget About Death

Forget about death and your end of life plan

And hang on to your life for as long as you can

Since life is the greatest gift that anyone does possess

Far greater than any other form of success

Just live and let live and make the most of every day

You are luckier than many in truth one can say

With more than enough food to eat and a good home to live in

You are one of those people who was born to win

A grandfather a decade ago divorced from your wife

Of late she acquired a new husband in her life

And  you seem happy enough living on your own

Though of far better days in life of you have known

But when you talk of your end of life plan to you i can only say

Forget about dying and make the most of your day.

On Bird Brain

Bird  brain of a not so clever person that is used every day

By judgmental people put down words among the many that disrespect is meant to pay

Though birds are quite clever despite what some of them does say

Some of them as clever as humans in their own sort of a way

I have seen little ravens at Warrnambool Botanical Gardens dipping  hard bread to soften to eat at the verge of the lake

One can say this action some thought does take

Of any help for their survival from humans little ravens are not in need

Some birds are clever yes quite clever indeed

In the nest some birds build they are gifted as well as rather smart

One can say they are unsung teachers of  natural art

Of Nature's creatures every day we do learn something new

And one can say their lessons to us are not of the few

The intelligence of birds never cease to surprise

This is something of them i have come to realize

Those who tell you that their education ended on their last day in school

Are not open to learning and themselves only fool

Though as an expression of praise by the one who utters it it is surely not meant

To be called a bird brain i take as a compliment

Since birds they are clever with ways of their own

And so much about them remains as unknown.

We Age Rather Quickly

We age rather quickly just beyond our physical prime

And eventually we all become victims of time

Each day we do live one nearer to our last day

The seconds on our lives keep on ticking away

Whatever you achieve in life for you there is an end

We are not here forever on this one can depend

And what happens to the soul of the mind when we die

If i did say i know this would be telling a lie

Any deceased person i knew did not come back to me to say

Of their lives in a World from Earth far away

Only know we are born as mortals for to die eventually

Life's journey for us all end this is how it must be

We age rather quickly and time does tick on

Midnight is the birth of tomorrow and today will have gone.

The War Supposed To End All Wars

The war supposed to end all wars ended a century ago

And the enemy back then is no longer the foe

But many disputes that have ended in wars since then

Quite a common occurence in a World ruled by men

War even for so called winners comes at a huge cost

How can there be a winner with so many human lives lost

Not much consolation for the family of a war dead young soldier no not much at all

His name among others on a war memorial wall

This for to sacrifice yourself to be remembered seems a huge price to pay

Yet wars big and small fought in the World every day

And leaders of Countries that instigate wars in war never does fight

In their narcissism every decision they make they believe to be right

The war supposed to end all wars ended a century ago

But that this did not end wars only happens to be so.

I Have Seen Ageing Migrants

I have seen ageing migrants their eyes moistened with tears

As they talked of their boyhoods in the long gone years 

And their friends of their younger years in towns far away

Who like them would be showing their years today

It was mostly their yearn for adventure caused them to migrate

Nostalgia in some of them does not have a use by date

Yet one wonders why they ever did leave their first homeplace

Since as migrants they only socialize with their own race

The praises of multiculturalism many may sing

But at times i find it to be a perplexing thing

Since many of us migrants to our own races can only relate

And with people of other races seldom associate

In them their feelings of nostalgia they cannot disguise

At an old favourite song from their homeland tears come to their eyes

Yet as migrants they will live their last night and day

And far from their hometowns their remains will lay.

He Was A Champion Sportsman

He was a champion sportsman many years ago

Until time that rusts iron became his foe

The town's finest footballer in his physical prime

But this is going back many Seasons of time

The hero of that memorable Grand Final Day

When for him there was many a rousing hooray

An octogenarian great grandfather lately to cancer he lost his wife

He looks and feels sad without the great love of his life

Of better days in life he surely of has known

Grey haired and balding he lives on his own

That time is our master to everyone does apply

He was a great footballer in years long gone by

Time has taken the energy from the legs that ran fast

All he has now are memories of his glorious past.

Leave Them To Their Pleasure

Though you never harm them in any way

Of you they do not have any nice things to say

But to their criticisms of you any heed do not pay

Since you happen to be their  picked on one of the day

In every town there are people like they are the unenlightened few

Tomorrow to criticize they will have somebody new

They do not like you since with them you have nothing in common to share

Sadly small minded people like them are not rare

Never mind them keep on doing your art this is what you do best

Your type their sort with are never impressed

Artists and art are just not their thing

Of the praises of the wealthy and famous they only like to sing

Leave them to their pleasure on putting people like you down

Their sort never an asset to any town.

At Sting Ray Bay

A cool October evening with a slight chill in the breeze

Though the sun it is shining it is a cool ten degrees

The waves gently lapping on the beach of Sting Ray Bay

Just before sundown of a fresh Spring day

In the background the waarbling so pleasant to hear

Of the birds who do sing every day of the year

The black and white magpies Nature's songsters supreme

They are born to sing or so it does seem

Earthly Utopia is not far away

From Warrnambool and beautiful Sting Ray Bay

The mewing of the silver gulls a familiar sound

Where the land meets the ocean Nature's beauty abound

Though where to many mine is a stranger's face

I do feel at ease in this beautiful place.

Life Can Have It's Costly Lessons

He does not trust strangers for this him do not blame

Since he has been a victim of a crime of shame

One he did not know emptied his bank account

Which of money happened to be a considerable amount

Another victim of an online scammer sad to say

Who robbed him of his hard earned savings of years working for pay 

Though not a wealthy man he now is in financial poverty

And though no longer young he must keep working hard to support his family

With his money to boost his retirement from his bank account gone

Sadly beyond his retirement age he must keep working on

An online stranger with what seemed a credible bogus scheme on whom he placed his trust

Turned out to be a scammer one of the criminally unjust

For his mistrust of strangers a huge financial price he did pay

Life can have it's costly lessons in truth one can say.

It Was All Lovey Dovey

Love between them was at it's pinnacle it did seem this way

It was all lovey dovey on their wedding day

But love quickest to bloom sometimes fastest to die

A truism that has seldom been proven a lie

Their six months of marriage ended in divorce

And sadly love between them it had run it's course

Nowadays as strangers they act when they meet

In silence they pass each other on the street

Hatred between them is all that remain

The often used proverb this well may explain

That hatred can often be love upside down

Perhaps the reason they only glare at each other when they meet in the town

What happened between them do not know for to say

It was all lovey dovey on their wedding day.

A Humbling Thing

That we learn as we live only true for to say

And of Nature we learn something new every day

And though my love of her in time only grow

So little of her ways i can claim of to know

Yet of her every day i learn something new

Her lessons are many and her secrets not few

Of their knowledge of Nature some leave none in doubt

Though the one not born yet who of Nature knows everything about

She is one who does have ways of her own

And so much about her remains as unknown

I first grew to love Nature as a young boy

And learning of her ways today i enjoy

And though i am one her praises who does love to sing

To realize of her i know little is a humbling thing.

I Feel No Desire

I feel no desire to attain wealth and fame

That mine should be honoured as a well known name

I treat these ego boosters as much the same

Though anyone for craving recognition one hardly can blame

For in the twenty first century the dessire for success through wealth and fame is an in thing

One reason so many their own praises love to sing

And narcissism in desire does have it's source

The ego in the mind is such a great force

Recognition and honour for the self the ego compels us to crave

For to control their ego few can be that brave

Of those who like singing their own praises i quickly does tire

In them i cannot see too much to admire

I too had ambition a long time ago

That evaporated as time became my foe.

The Babies Born Yesterday

The babies born yesterday one day older today

And one day nearer to their end in truth one can say

Time always in a hurry it does not delay

It ever keeps ticking and ticking away

It is not of the aged the praises are sung

The town's elderly citizens are no longer young

They did have their innings one has to suppose

Time on their existence coming to a close

A myth at best in it not any truth

The story of Tir Na Nog the Land of eternal youth

Nobody remains young and time does tick on

And at the stroke of midnight today will have gone

Youth with anyone does not have a long stay

The babies born yesterday one day older today.

Was He America's Greatest Songwriter

His legendary songs remain as icons from seventeen decades ago

Was he America's greatest songwriter history tells us maybe so

Yet he died young in his late thirties sadly in dire poverty

All alone of alcohol poisoning in greatness there can be tragedy

One of the great songwriters of the English speaking World of him can be truly said

Stephen Collins Foster not well remembered but many of his songs are far from dead

Camptown Races, I dream of Jeanie, My Old Kentucky Home and Old Black Joe

His songs today remain quite popular time has not become their foe

Hard Times, Old Folks  At Home, Beautiful Dreamer and Nelly Bly Stephen Foster's songs live on

Songs of his that are sung Worldwide though life's breath from him long gone

Songs of one who died as a young man as a song writer in his writing prime

His songs will live on for centuries through the coming years of time

Was he America's greatest songwriter great as he was hard to find

Stephen Collins Foster was a genius he had an enlightened mind

His songs have brought joy to many he climbed to the summit of fame

Yet he died as quite a young man without a penny to his name.

Pudsy

I remember our dog Pudsy she was one of common breed

A dark brown female and very hairy she was quite a dog indeed

Medium sized and built quite sturdy she was involved in many a dog fight

Though of a scrap never the instigator she always won to our delight

All of our family did love Pudsy she to us was a dear friend

Though she was a dog who loved people against danger us she would defend

Tears were shed in our family the day Pudsy passed away

Though i am fourteen with three score years i remember her today

Pudsy gave birth to many puppies which we gave as gifts for free

The only pup we did keep off of her brown Jack died young tragically

He died when a farmer neighbour in his field hidden from view placed baited meat

Which Jack somehow did discover and died when some of it he eat

Pudsy she died as an old dog going back in time long ago

In the early to mid sixties time since has become my foe

But the memories with me linger of a faithful canine friend

And she is one i will remember until my life's journey end

Bordering Warrnambool

The nesting birds singing in the twilight gray

In the prime of the Spring of an October day

As the wind driven rain keeps on drizzling down

On Illowa between Warrnambool City and Koroit Town

Illowa looking so green in the rain

A wet and mild Spring always the farmers financial gain

The countryside at it's finest on this time of year

With warmer Summer days to the coastal lands near

In the leafy gardens of Illowa birds are on song

Such beauty to Nature that only belong

Though the sun has not shone out many times today

Earthly Utopia from Illowa is never far away

Though the evening  is wet and windy and cool

The coastal lands lush and green bordering Warrnambool.

Like Them

We are told that all wildborn creatures live free

But most of them are confined by territory

Like us humans they too have borders to defend

And their neighbours of their own species does not treat as a friend

People who say to Nature humans do not belong

I for one can only believe have got it all wrong

The Earth that we live off of we will return to one day

In some form or other in truth one can say

And like most of Nature's other life forms borders we create

And in death with them we share a similar fate

To Nature's other life forms we believe we are not of  a similar kind

But similarities between us and them are not hard to find

Though unlike us they do not realize for them there is an end

Like them our own borders we too do defend.

A Critic

Since for doing it he said you never receive any pay

How come you keep on writing rhymes every day

Are you one of those who with rhyming words love to play

You must be addictive is all i can say

Why do you keep on doing it i do wonder why?

Methought to his criticism and questions i ought to reply

I said i am one who enjoy writing rhyme

It is something i have been doing for quite a long time

I enjoyed reading rhymes as a young boy

And writing them nowadays i thoroughly enjoy

Since making money in life does seem their thing

The praises of financially successful people he only could sing

And on saying good bye to him i came to realize

That we look at the World in very different eyes.

On Nature

Her wonders are many and her secrets not few

And every day of her we learn something new

And so much about her remains as unknown

For Nature indeed does have ways of her own

Most lovers and students of Nature have come to realize

That of her they know little this not a surprise

Yet of her we do learn something new every day

We never stop learning in truth one can say

Nature the one with the magical power

She helps Mother Earth to create a beautiful flower

The artists and writers her does celebrate

But in her moments of anger havoc she can create

As the World's nuimber one super power she remain

And from learning about her new insights of her we gain

Nature to us remains a mystery

This is how it is and how it always will be.

This Much I Can Say

In life i have been lucky this much i can say

In the good and kind people i meet every day

People who to help others often go out of their way

Respect to them in words one only can pay

That there is more than one side to humanity this goes without doubt

And of the negative side we do know about

And though no human being is perfect or completely pure

The good by far outnumber the bad and this is for sure

Fair dues to those who believe on a fair go for all

Though their names will never be on a memorial wall

It is by good example they lead the way

Their part for a better World to live in by their good deeds they do play

In a Human World where many with each other for success compete

Every day some good people i happen to meet.

This Is Their Way

Life forms prey on each other by night and by day

To survive in the wild state this is their way

They do not have a sense of right or wrong

Only humans believe that superior thinking to us belong

But humans who believe in a just war believe in a lie

Since in every so called just war many innocent civilians die

This is written off as enemy collateral damage which devalues the enemy non combatant dead

In many of our ways of other life forms we are not ahead

In the Natural World there is no sense of wrong or of right

Though like us for their territories they too does fight

To them we may feel superior but in many ways we are not

Though in some ways the difference betweeeen us and them is quite a lot

Since they have no sense of difference between wrong and right

And they feel no guilt when they kill or fight.

The Willie Wagtail's Nest

In neat small cup shaped nest of spiders webs that binds together bits of hay

And lined with animal hair the female bird lay

Two or three brown dotted grey eggs on low fork of tree

That from the ground is not hard to see

Willie wagtails black and white flycatchers with ways of their own

Little birds that to many are well loved and well known

Often wagging their long dark tails hence their often used name

In back yards and gardens they seem almost tame

At nesting time none they do treat as a friend

With bravery against much bigger birds their nests and young they defend

Quite adorable little creatures of them one can say

That people of town and countryside see every day

Always challenging bigger birds in their territory

One does have to admire them for their bravery.

Maybe I Will Never

Maybe i will never see Clara again

Or walk in the fields in the wind that brings rain

To that beautiful spot where the waterways meet

Just west of the Duhallow Town of Millstreet

I have not been in Claraghatlea for many years

And for the what used to be i have shed my last tears

But the memories in me remain as a source of joy

Of where i grew to love Nature as a young boy

The mentors of my childhood years at peace forever lay

And time it has left me looking old and gray

In Millstreet to many i would be a stranger today

Since from there i have been quite a long time away

And only the memories today linger on

Of my younger years in the forever gone.

Kathleen Harte

As Kathleen Hartnett she was raised at the Bridge Millstreet Town

As a girl and young woman quite lovely her hair was dark brown

She married Liam Harte quite a long time ago

Long before time it did become her foe

Far from her first Hometown in Duhallow's green countryside

It is said after a long illness Kathleen Harte died

The good in life suffer to her this did apply

That she lived as a good person none of her can deny

A mother and grandmother irreplaceable in her family

She died in her seventies at a guess maybe

A role model and to many she was a good friend

Sad to learn her life's journey for her has come to an end

The longest lived human life is not that long true to say

And for all of us there is this last night and day

And though from Kathleen Harte the great gift of life it has gone

In all who knew and knew of her good memories of her will live on.

On COVID 19

Prevention of it does seem the best cure

COVID 19 can be a killer for sure

Many who survive it left feeling unwell

With damaged lungs life for them Earthly Hell

It is said that in China it first began

It's first victim not known girl, boy, woman or man

Some say it's source was in a horseshoe bat

But many profess to have a doubt in that

And others say in the City of Wuhan 

As an escapee from a laboratory it's Worldwide journey it began

A virus that has caused suffering death and tears

That will live in the World for an unknown amount of years

Those who believe it not to be dangerous believe their own lie

It may leave you with long term health problems if of it you don't die.

I Feel Happy To Live

I feel happy to live for to see every day

Since time on my life keeps on ticking away

In my mid seventies well past my physical prime

Like all other ageing people i have become a victim of time

And though the seconds of my life keeps on ticking fast

I want to live now more than i ever did in the past

Like everyone else life is the greatest gift i do possess

And is far greater than any other form of success

My only advice to any woman or man

Is live for as long as you possibly can 

Live for at the living of life we only get one chance

A gift that came to us only by circumstance

Of the praises of life i feel happy to sing

For indeed it is quite a wonderful thing.

In Many Instances

There is an old saying that talk is quite cheap

That in our actions of hard work the rewards we do reap

In this one can say that some credence is due

Though in some instances this is not true

Some people who work hard for their pay

Never seem to grow wealthier by the day

They do not reap the rewards of the good Karma they have sown

As the working poor they are widely known

Your circumstance of birth it can be fair to say

In most cases on how wealthy or poor you are does play

Few ever born or raised on the poor side of any city or town

Do climb the ladder of success to wealth and renown

To the saying the harder you work the luckier you get some credence is due

But in many instances this is not true.

Live And Let Live

From the long gone years but relevant today

Live and let live as the wise one did say

It is so easy in words for to put others down

Though this will not make you as one of the admired of the town

Those into comparing people struggling with their sense of self esteem

They feel insecure in their own worth it does seem

Something i learned from a wise man that he learned as a boy

That comparisons are always the thief of joy

To be an unpaid judge of others is not very wise

If you cannot see good them do not criticize

Never harm them with your words in any way

Each to their own remains true for to say

Live and let live is how it should be

A fair go should apply to all would you not agree?

On The Day We Do Die

Since they are the people who cannot seem to win

For them it cannot be a nice World for to live in

Born into life for to battle the odds

They must be the children of the lesser gods

Of the praises of the wealthy so many do sing

And to be short of money is not a nice thing

And if everybody is equal as is said in god's sight

Why are so many hungry and homeless and sleeping rough at night?

There is a huge gulf in the social divide

The gap between the have and the have not keeps on growing wide

The poor getting poorer only true to say

And inequality is rife in the Human World of today

But one fact remains relevant and fact never lie

Is we all become equal on the day we do die.

Noel Browne

He was a politician well ahead of his time

Yet his name does not live on in song, story and rhyme

As a Minister for health in the Irish Government his was not a long stay

For his ahead of the time thinking dismissal price he did pay

Long before young Irish women used the anti birth pill

Noel Browne introduced to Dail Eireann his Mother and Child Bill

But the Catholic clergy in Ireland held political sway

And on the killing off of what was a good bill they did have their way

Noel Browne was a political wizard in truth of him can be said

And of all Irish politicians in thinking then he was decades ahead

In the Ireland of the nineteen fifties due to his thinking he was looked on by many as strange

There can be a huge price to pay for the instigators of change

Though his part for a better Ireland for  the disadvantaged to live in he surely did play

In ths history of his Country he is not well remembered today

The best politician that i can recall

To ever hold a seat in the Irish Dail

One well ahead of his time happens to be so

Though he died a disappointed man many years ago

Many of the policies he legislated for are popular in every democratic Country of today

Noel Browne a politician in his thinking well ahead of his time in truth one can say

The Price They Do Pay

For speaking out against their anti human rights governments the price they does pay

So many honourable and brave people are in prison today

To criticize their government in their Country is a major crime

And for this they may be in prison for quite a long time

To live in a Country where the goverment you can criticize

Is a privilege as such one does come to realize

So many people in Countries of autocratic regimes who live in fear

Of speaking their minds is obviously clear

If you can criticize the government without fear of reprisals of you one can say

That you could be living in a far worse Country to live in today

A fact of the matter and fact never lie

In some Countries for criticizing the government people in prison may die

Every day in the news we read of and hear

Of abuse of their citizens by governments who rule by fear.

Everyone Needs A Dream

Though life may decide what you wish for not for you

Like everyone you need a dream to pursue

Something to live for when your life journey is rough

And times on you are rather tough

For a Better future when hope in you is all but dead

Your dream of  the better for you holds you in good stead

In personal tough times the one without a dream is struggling to cope

And for a better future does hold little hope

At the end of the dark tunnel the dreamers see light

And they do believe better times are in sight

When times on you are tough and you battle the odds

And you believe that you have been shunned by the gods

It is then of your dream that you are in need

For without it you would feel despondent indeed.

The Stay At Home People

The stay at home people one can only admire

For an adventurous lifestyle they feel no desire

Among family and friends happy to stay

In or near where they first saw light of day

Their stories in book form may never be published to be sold

They just feel happy in familiar surroundings to grow old

Well known to all of the other patrons in their local public bar

From their first home content not to live far

The stay at home people feel no desire to live elsewhere

In some big town or city in the World out there

They are happy for to live among their own

Where they are liked by many and to everyone known

On Saturday evening in the pub's hour of song

They join in the chorus of the sing along

And with the local football club feel proud to play

Where they are born and raised they will grow old and grey

Nostalgia and homesickness of they will never know

Though some into adulthood with they did grow

Have left to seek adventure in the big World out there

The stay at home people could never imagine themselves growing old elsewhere.

It Is Not

It is not the honours in life you have won

Though these matter to many when all is said and done

Since the financially successful many do admire

And just to be like them in life their main desire

But those who are generous to the poorest of the town

And with money helps those who in life are down

And spend some of their income on those doing it tough

To be claimed as successful and good people good enough

They may not be among the wealthiest of the town

But they do help the financially down

For helping people living in poverty

They lead in good example by their generosity

Honours for themselves they may not win

But they help to make the World better for others to live in.

On The Last Time

On the last time that i did leave Millstreet as the bus it drove out of the Town

Old Clara in grey fog was shrouded and the rain it was drizzling down

On the streets of people that were close to deserted from a sky that was gloomy and grey

On a chilly evening in December of a wintery Duhallow day

On the bus that was bound for the ferry that sails to Fishguard from Rosslare

On a journey that with many migrants past and present that i did share

The yearn of adventure was in me for the bigger World out there

Perhaps i was not born to die old in Duhallow my future was to live elsewhere

A journey that brought me to Victoria a state in the great Land of the far south

Far from the fields of the badger and the waterways of the brown trout

Of great achievements i am not one who has any stories to tell

But quite content for one in his seventies and feeling rather healthy and well

On the evening that i did leave Millstreet two months short of thirty five years ago

I was not what one would call a young fellow and time was becoming my foe.

Knowledge Is Infinite

That knowledge is infinite is not a lie

We learn as we live until the day we do die

Enlightenment to the mind it never fails to bring

The one not born yet who does know everything

Life is a great teacher why otherwise pretend

On your last day in school learning for you did not end

As is said of ignorance it can be bliss

For those into learning there is truth in this

We learn from people and life every day

Knowledge no weight on the mind in truth one can say

Knowledge and education though in ways quite similar not exactly the same

There are some differences between them that one can name

The one with a uni degree may not have as  much general knowledge as the one who left school at an early age

In the book of life there is more than one page

That knowledge is infinite as a truism remain

The meaning in this it's own self does explain.

A Fox It Is Barking

In the still of the night under the starlit sky

A fox it is barking somewhere nearby

A creature that is seldom seen out by day

The reason for it's barking i do not know for to say

Perhaps it may be calling out for a mate

For foxes in this countryside are rare of late

Poisoning and trapping and shooting on them taking toll

Farmers and fowl owners classify foxes as living vermin to be kept under control

Foxes kill small domestic creatures and small wildlife as prey

They mostly hunt by night and sometimes by day

Sheep farmers and free range fowl owners only wish on them ill

Since their fowl and lambs they regularly kill

An animal seldom seen out in the daylight

A fox it is barking in the still of the night.

The One Who Instigate Change

The one who instigate change may not be among the admired of the town

And may have no aspiration to wealth and renown

It may be a she or it may be a he

The instigator of change can be of either gender is how it seems to be

Those who instigate change look at life differently

From those who see change as a bad idea

They do not see sameness as a healthy thing

And in their thinking change for the better they help to bring

Though the majority with their opinions do not agree

In their new ideas some influential people some worth in their opinions does see

In this way they help to bring change for the better about

This despite many their intelligence doubt

The instigators of change fame and wealth never desire

And they are not the people many does admire

In their ideas change for the better they help to bring

And this in itself is a very good thing.

From Where I Was Raised

From where i was raised and first saw light of day

As an ageing migrant from there i live far away

In the flat coastal lands of the Yangery

A migrant is the best i can wish to be

Far south of where the dark Blackwater flow

In the fields of the rook and the silver back crow

Time it has made an old fellow of me

And the past only remain as a memory

Of the what was in the long ago

Long before time did become my foe

Age comes to everyone so very fast

And memories are all that migrants do have of their past

In the old rushy fields near the Town of Millstreet

Where the Cails from Kippagh and the Finnow does meet

The soft fluting of the curlew i may never more hear

In the stillness of the evening in the Spring of the year

Memories are all i have of days long gone

And time on my life ever keeps ticking on

But the now is all that does matter as a truism remain

The meaning in this it's own self does explain.

A Divorced Grandmother

In her physical prime years a great beauty to behold

But natural beauty in time does grow old

Back in the days when her hair was chestnut brown

She was admired by the young men as the rose of the town

A single grandmother in her late sixties today

The man that she married with her did not stay

He left her for the love of another man

All things in love as in life does not always go to plan

With anti ageing creams on her face she smooths her time wrinkles away

And with brown dye in her hair she hides the gray

She has put on some weight though apart from this she looks rather well

But time on the best of them eventually does tell

Without a lover or a partner she lives on her own

And of better days in life she surely has known.

The Land Developer

You show a wealthy l;and developer a beautiful tree

But in it an obstacle to progress he only does see

He believes every tree growing in the park of the town

Should be removed to make way for  building after being cut down

To a land developer every black feathered bird is a crow

Nothing about Nature he does seem to know

Greenies are Nature lovers he does say

And of progress they only does stand in the way

In the posh uptown restaurant he and his wife with their wealthy friends dine

And wash down their expensensive food with expensive wine

And it is not of Nature that they talk about

But making money and big business this goes without doubt

You show a wealthy land developer a beautiful tree

And in it an obstacle to progress he only does see

Memories Are All

Memories are all we do have to retain

Of faces and places we may not see again

The baby born yesterday one day older today

And time on our lives ever ticking away

Changes around us keep on happening fast

And only in memory we can return to the past

That time it does weary happens to be so

And eventually it becomes everyone's foe

In his prime years against the best with success he did compete

But nowadays his fastest pace slow the once great athlete

Just a shadow of the man that he used to be

Though his name does live on in Sports history

That time is our master there is none to deny

All we have are memories of the years gone by. 

In Nature

Her wonders are many and her secrets not few

And every day of her we learn something new

Those who love Nature her praises does sing

Such joy to so many she always does bring

One can say of her she has ways of her own

And so much about her remains to be known

Of the sheer power of her to our wonderment of her gives rise

And every day in her for us some new surprise

The one artists and writers like to celebrate

She helps Mother Earth great beauty to create

Of her we do learn something new every day

We never stop learning life works in this way

In Nature there is so much for to admire

And of singing her praises one never could tire.

Katherine Stewart

Katherine Stewart a Warrnambool lady in her late fifties maybe

Quite a kind and caring person she has helped many a refugee

Here is a woman worth admiring she helps people in life down

Yet sadly people who are like her are never the admired of any town

She is one i only know of though her i may never get to meet

For to be financially successful with others she does not compete

People like her who like helping others never become wealthy and well known

One can say of them the best of people and in a class of their own

There's a truism worth quoting it is not the good things for yourself  you do

But the good things you do for others that says of the good in you

Katherine Stewart leads by good example she helps Stateless people every day

Who out of fear for their lives seeking refuge from troubled Countries far away

Here's a woman in a million one that we ought to admire

Of Warrnambool an unsung heroine to help the Stateless her life's desire.

Of The Person You Are

You may be one who is financially down

Out of work and out of friends on the poor side of the town

On the ladder to success you have not climbed far

And you cannot even afford to buy a second hand car

On your search for a job start luck not on your side

And being unemployed does nothing for your sense of pride

But from no fault of your own you became unemployed

And from anyone you have no secrets to hide

When the company you worked for went into receivership it came to you at a huge financial cost

You were made redundant and a regular livable financial income to you lost

Financial tough times of late you have known

But you became unemployed through no fault of your own

And though you cannot even afford to buy a second hand car

You ought to feel proud of the person you are.

The Bard Of The Yukon

Robert William Service never won any major literary prize

And this does not come as any great surprise

Since the literary critics of the time did not see him as one of literary note

And would not bestow on him the title of poet

Service born in Preston in Lancashire in England in his younger years worked as a secretary for a bank

He was one who was not of high social rank

For many years he travelled in northern Canada sometimes in dire poverty

But fame and wealth came to him in his poems The Shooting  Of  Dan Mcgrew and The Cremation Of Sam Mcgee

From his poems of the Klondike gold rush he shot to poetic fame

And almost overnight his became a World known literary name

He and Jack London in their writing made the Klondike famous in the years long gone by

Literary greatness of Service nowadays none does deny

An original poet in a class of his own

As the Bard of the Yukon Robert William Service became widely known

In 1958 in Lancieux in France the renowned bard died

His poems loved and read by lovers of poetry Worldwide

It is true that all good things come to those who do wait

In his poorest days Robert Service in fame and wealth as a writer with hope did keep faith

A legend of poetry of him one can say

In all parts of the English speaking World his poems they are read and recited today.

A Lisnaboy Chaffinch

Good old memories live on as a source of joy

In Spring in the leafy green groves of Lisnaboy

Of chaffinches singing in the twilight gray

In the fading light of a cool April day

It is not that hard for to visualize

To happy moments good memories gives rise

Lisnaboy a place of beaurty in Spring

When the wild nesting birds whistle and sing

Only the good memories of our past we wish to retain

In moments of nostalgia for to visit again

The Seasons to Nature do come and do go

And time that ages all life becomes everyone's foe

But on my flights of fancy i often does hear

A Lisnaboy chaffinch to me singing near.

On Racism

The perpetrators are people of low self esteem

Racism is based on ignorance it does seem

To it there is not a colour despite what some think or say

People of all shades and races are victims of it every day

Of racists humanity is not in need

Too many of their sort far too many indeed

Racists are not an asset to their side of the town

In their racist remarks they leave themselves and their own race down

Red is the blood we are born with to bleed

Good living people in every gender, race and creed

For racism in the Human World there cannot be a place

People should not be judged by their nationality or race

Old words of wisdom worthy of recall

A fair go for some is not a fair go for all.

So Many Their Own Praises

So many their own praises do love to sing

One can say it is a twenty first century thing

But self praise is no praise as the wise one did say

It is something that still remains relevant today

Leave it to others to say of how marvellous you are

And admire you for the size of your home or the size of your car

So many of the narcissistic inclined in the Human World of today

Yet these are the people who are furthest away

From their higher self though to many praise is their due

Than them those who are kind to others to their higher selves more true

The higher self does seem further away

From those who live for self only today

Whilst they have convinced many of how marvellous they are

And of on the success ladder they have climbed far.

On Birdsong

It is a fallacy only for love that birds do sing

Since birdsong is mostly a territorial thing

At breeding time in song their borders they defend

And when singing to their neighbours of any form of love they do not pretend

In their songs birds sing to their neighbours this is our territory

At this time of year you are our enemy

As well as seducing a mate song between similar species conflict avoid

That birdsong is not all about love cannot be denied

Songbirds sing their finest in their breeding time in Spring

And to the human listener joy often does bring

But those who tell you there is only love in a bird's song

One can say of them they do have it wrong

Since birdsong with them is mostly a territorial thing

It is not for love only that birds choose to sing.

On Politicians

We work for the people most politicians do say

But in their secret thoughts they do not feel this way

Most politicians in politics for their own gain

Just like professionals in most other careers as a fact does remain

To ambitious people a career in politics great power does bestow

This is something most people of already know

Power with it to the aspirational success does bring

And of the praises of the successful many do love to sing

Many politicians are extremely ambitious people and among the self obsessed

By the desire for absolute power they are possessed

But among politicians there are a minority

Who at least do have in them some empathy

But sadly the compassionate politicians are of the few

And this is not saying anything that is new.

I Am Just One Of Those

I am just one of those who writes rhymes every day

Just for the love of it not for the reward of pay

Not a hard thing to do does seem true to say

There are so many with rhyming words who loves to play

Rhyme used to be popular many yeaars ago

But that time brings with it changes happens to be so

Rhymers are no longer admired in any town

In literature nowadays in rhyming no renown

Along with novelists by the literary critics the best blank verse poets held in high esteem

Even to literature time always brings great change is how it does seem 

Suppose as is said everything has it's time

And though seen as out of date no shortage of writers of rhyme

The Seasons of time have left me balding and gray

I am just one of  those who writes rhymes every day.

Enemies Of Earth Mother

Human created carbon emissions gives rise to global warming and hurries on climate change

Perhaps in decades from now the unthinkable to us will not be looked on as strange

The surviving species of wildlife in their natural state rare

And that extinction is forever many of all too aware

Our present time lifestyles will become to our shame

And for the World they live in future generations will have us to blame

For their scarcity of food and droughts that give rise to famines where millions of malnutrition die

That most of us humans are not friends of the Earth that feeds us is not a lie

When we abuse what feeds and supports us other creatures will suffer too

Sadly future generations of people will suffer for the damage to the Earth we do

Every day carbon emissions created  by us humans hurry on climate change by thousands of years

For future generations of people we are creating suffering grief and tears

If we become kinder to Mother Earth a change for the better this would bring

Nature lovers would not have to fear the thoughts of a silent Spring.

We Learn As We Live

For our every mistake always some price to pay

But we learn as we live something new every day

On your last day in school your education for you did not end

Every bit of new knowledge you acquire is like you acquiring a new lifetime friend

The lessons of the book of life are not of the few

And every day we live we learn something new

We learn as we live life works in this way

And this is something that is only true for to say

The reason that knowledgeable people the leaders of dictatorial regimes does fear

Is not hard to explain and is obviously clear

To them with their knowledge too much of a threat

And jail them or worse put them to death.

If open to learning for as long as long as you live

Life to you always has more knowledge to give.

So Few Out Of Writing

So few out of writing a fortune in money have made

And so many hobby writers who never make the grade

And only a few who aspire to literary greatness scale the heights of fame

In literature so few for themselves make a name

So many young writers in every village and city and town

Who do have their own dreams of literary renown

But so few can hope to see their dreams come true

And achieve from life what they feel is their due

So many writers have their own literary idols to admire

And from writing like they are to be wealthy and famous to does aspire

And then there are those who for the love of doing it write every day

Without any desire for fame or for doing it money as pay

It is something that everyone of are aware

That in literature as in all things the wealthy and famous are rare.

The Good Things For Others

You will be remembered for the good things for others you do

Treat other people as you would like them treat you

To your higher self you cannot live as true

If you never give credit to where it is due

Your best to live as a good person you can only try

Their right to a fair go none ever deny

You will never become the best loved in the town

If in your words you enjoy putting others down

In a World where for success many compete

Every day good people i happen to meet

People who work hard to earn an honest pay

Respect to them is due one only can say

The good things for others that you choose to do

Than the good things you do for yourself says more about you.

Hard To Attain

To be true to your higher self hard to attain

If money and lots of admirers in life you wish to gain 

It is hard to stay humble when you have achieved fame

When many admire you and know you by name

It only seems a true enough thing for to say

That their higher self from many of the wealthy and famous is far away

Among many of the people who live the high life

Narcissism and all that goes with it is rife

So many nowadays with the self are obsessed

And by the wealthy and famous their sort quite impressed

They possess in themselves this burning desire

To be wealthy and famous like those they admire

Self promotion nowadays does seem an in thing

So many their own praises do love to sing.

Poor Mangan

His poems like himself outside of Ireland not that well known

But as a poet he was in a class of his own

The poor poet of Dublin James Clarence Mangan his name

A great writer who has been long outlived by his fame

In eighteen forty nine in Ireland's post famine years without children or a partner or wife

On his forty sixth year Mangan surrendered his gift of life

Of consumption and malnutrition one who did not live to die old

In dire poverty of him written and told

In his lifetime none of his poems published out of Ireland yet they have withstood the time test

Among the writers of his Country he is one of the best

A true poet of the people of him one can say

With words he was one who surely had a way

Their journey through time on some people can be rough

And their best days in life can be even quite tough

On poor Mangan the best days were so very hard

The poet some claim to be Ireland's National Bard.

On a Fair Go For All

Words of wisdom from the past well worthy of recall

A fair go for some is not a fair go for all

If your idea of a fair go to all does not apply

Then the truth in a fair go you only deny

A fair go to everyone black, white and brown

In every village and city and town

Of every religion, color and gender and race

In a fair go for everyone there would be a place

It is not saying anything that on any way that is new

That a fair go should apply to everyone and not to a few

A fair go to the privileged only it would seem Worldwide

And by citrcumstance of birth the majority of  a fair go are denied

And the fact of the matter when all is said and done

That it is not a fair go for all if it does not apply to everyone.

Does It Matter Now

Does it matter now if i was a dunce of the school

Far north of this countryside by Warrnambool

Or if i am a stranger to wealth and to fame

And in life for myself i have not made a name

But does it matter when all is said and done

If any honours in life i have never won

The Reaper of lives does not respect wealth or fame

And treats every life as equal and the same

Most of those i went to scholol with i have not seen for years

But for the what used to be i have long shed my last tears

All of those i went to school with are growing old like me

Time is everyone's master is how it seems to be

A dunce of the school in a town far away

But the now is all that does matter as the wise one does say.

The Widow

A widowed grandmother in her late sixties ageing as a single woman today

Without a lover or a partner for as long as she lives she says she will stay

Her late husband a good man to him she was a good wife

Though for him she settled for her second love choice in life

The man that she loved where the deceased are does lay

He died in his lovers arms he was gay

Her love for him unrequited which seems sad indeed

In love as in life we don't always get what we need

Quite an attractive looking woman of her one can say

Without hair dyes or makeup ageing in a natural way

Her wavy gray hair to her shoulders in her prime one of the finest in the town

Back in the days when her hair was dark brown

To a good man for many years she was a good wife

And though she grieved his passing he was not the love of her life.

Your Gift Of Life

Of the praises of life we should feel happy to sing

For it is amazing an incomparable thing

Far greater than any other form of success

The greatest gift any human being does possess

Short enough in real time is our human life span

So live for as long as you possibly can

Live and make the most of your every day

Since time on your life keeps on ticking away

The seconds and minutes keep on ticking fast

And every day you live one nearer your last

We are born as mortals when all is said and done

And tomorrow will dawn but not for everyone

Your gift of life came to you by birth circumstance

And at living of it never a second chance.

In Millstreet Today

 From there i have been quite a long time away

And i may feel a stranger in Millstreet today

Some i knew there among the deceased lay

And others like me there did not choose to stay

And those i knew still living there long past their physical prime

Eventually we all become victims of time

And like me all they have are memories of days long gone

In life as is said we all do move on

Few friendships as is known over time does last

And memories are all we have to share of the past

We do forge new friendships few things one could name

That over the decades of years stay the same

From there i have been quite a long time away

And i may feel a stranger in Millstreet today.

Since They Picked Potatoes

Since they picked potatoes in St Davids in coastal south Wales many years ago

Time that ages all life has become their foe

Too old for tatie hoking in late Spring in May

Since their physical prime years in the nineteen seventies many a night and day

It was by the bags of potatoes they picked they were paid

And in such hard seasonal work easy money never made

But from their contracting jobs they did financially well

And of their tatie hoking days had good stories to tell

During their potato picking Seasons the dwelling they lived in were not up to date

One can say they were not even second rate

Sheds used for houising animals in the Wintertime

But this did not bother work hardened men in their physical prime

One wonders on their flights of fancy do they ever hear

The bells of St Davids ringing loud and clear

As they picked the potatoes their backs bent to the sky

In their visualizing of days gone by

Some of the tatie hokers of the nineteen seventies are not living today

Free of the cares of life at peace they do lay

Whilst those who are living are showing their years in gray

That time wearies and ages in truth one can say.

Death

Of life's cares and worries death does set us free

Though many with this would surely disagree

For most people fear death and so too do i

If i did say different this would be a lie

Three score and ten years is the average human life span

A few years more for a woman than it is for a man

But death is the equalizer for to give it what is it's due

That it treats all people as equal happens to be true

Death the scythe of Nature does reap night and day

And no inequaity where it's victims do lay

Death is never impressed by money and fame

The monarch and pauper it treats as the same

It treats as equal the poor one and the billionaire

And frees everybody of worries and care.

Those Who Have Laughter

The child always happy when playing with her or his toy

Laughter is known to have it's source in joy

Those who have laughter have the inner glow

And their friends in numbers do seem to grow

Some people take themselves far too seriously

Though not short of money in mental poverty

For when it comes to humor they do seem quite broke

You never hear their sort laughing at a joke

Those who have joy in them share it around

It is always present where laughter abound

Laugh and the World laughs with you as a truism remain

The meaning in this it's own self does explain

And lucky are those who can laugh every day

Since they have a great gift in truth one can say.

Hurry And Lazy

Hurry the successful business person was buried today

Where most of the town's deceased are he now lay

His business acumen many did impress

And he was admired for his financial success

He died of a major heart attack quite suddenly

Still a young man only forty three

Survived by his wife and two daughters in their late teens of life he was not granted much time

He was only a decade of years past his physical prime

Hurry's dad Lazy in his late sixties looking and feeling fit and well

Unlike his deceased son of great material success in life he does not have of to tell

His nickname came from his laid back Nature he always finds time to smile

Unlike his son whose nickname came about from his busy lifestyle

Of healthy looking Lazy many more years of living ahead

But Hurry the busy son is now one of the dead

Lazy now is more successful than his deceased son

For life is what most matters when all is said and done.

Along The Ditch Of The Bohreen

Such beautiful memories i have to retain

Of natural beauty i may never look on again

In mid Spring along the ditch of the pebbly bohreen wildflowers in bloom after rain

Such memories of Nature's beauty with me does remain

Snowdrops, primroses and bluebells flowers of early Spring

In full bloom when the nesting songbirds begin to sing

Along the ditches of the bohreens wildflowers in bloom a beautiful sight to behold

Of Nature at her finest from the Springs of old

Such beautiful memories are with me today

Of Spring in ireland in April and May

Wildflowers by the bohreen raindrops on their petals gleaming in the sunshine

Good memories age well like the taste of old wine

Good memories live on of Nature's beauty seen

Such as wildflowers in Spring along the ditch of the bohreen.

John Twomey Of Ivale

John Twomey of Ivale a legendary Duhallow poet

His poems and songs live today as worthy of literary note

In Duihallow of the nineteen fifties he was one well loved and widely known

Back then one of in a league of his own

Where John Twomey migrated to i do not know of to say

But his poems and songs are sung and recited in Duhallow today

With words he was one who with did have a way

As a source of joy in his writing his part he did play

A well loved bard in Duhallow in his physical prime

But this is going back some six decades in time

Today if not deceased he is an elderly man

And in the late twilight of his lifetime span

He was a huge cultural loss to Duhallow when he migrated all of those years ago

As he was a great wordsmith happens to be so

The Flaw Finder

To some people you feel a fair go not their due

Since to what it takes to be great they do not  live as true

If you look for flaws in others then flaws you will find

But they lack in compassion those who in their words are not kind

So many like you in their thinking small

Your idea of a fair go does not include all

They are not an asset to their side of the town

Those who in their words enjoy putting others down

What you look for in others you are bound to see

Wisdom from the past is relevant today is how it seems to be

The one kind to others is far greater than you

And any harm with their words to anyone never do

In your words putting others down is quite enjoyable indeed

But of more of your sort the Human World is not in need.

Rhymers

An old saying that has lived through the decades of time

That anyone that can write if they wish to can write rhyme

Though not everyone on this would choose to agree

It depends on who you ask is how it seems to be

Most rhymers in rhyming words do love to play

And that rhyme too has it's standards does seem true to say

Though most twenty first century literary critics who for their literary opinions are paid rather well

As unworthy of their crioticisms dismiss all rhyme as doggerel

But some will tell you that rhyme is far from dead

And it will make a literary comeback in the years ahead

Though long gone are the days of the rhyming poet

Rhymers nowadays are not seen as worthy of any literary note

And though most rhymers never daydream of literary renown

There are rhymers in every village and city and town.

The Longest Lived

The longest lived human life in real time not a long span

So live for as long as you possibly can

Live for you like all others will be forever dead

That we only live once no truer words said

Our gift of life came to us only by chance

And not everyone born to parents affluent in finance

And though your admirers multiply with your financial success

Despite this life is the greatest gift anyone does possess

Though lots of money of a happy life is not a guarantee

It is better be wealthy and unhappy than being unhappy and in poverty

And though of the praises of money the majority may sing

It is of necessary importance though not everything

But of life there is no greater form of success 

It is the greatest gift anyone does possess.

Of How Long More

Of how long more i will live do not have a guarantee

Of when the one who claims all lives will come to claim the life from me

On some morning or evening or night or day

Whenever that will be i do not know to say

The fact of the matter and fact never lie

Like everyone else i too was born for to die

And like everyone else do not know when this will be

Only know death for us all is a certainty

Fourteen with three score years quite a good span of time

I have lived for many Seasons beyond my physical prime

Time has left me looking bald, old and gray

And some i went to school with are not living today

It is only the fear of death that i do fear

But that i am not alone in this is obviously clear

Since many do fear death and it is not a lie

That we are born to life to eventually die

From Where Old Tarwin Flow

Her wavy shoulder length hair is as dark as the wing of a crow

The beautiful young woman from where old Tarwin flow

Through the lands of the Bunurong slowly winding it's way

On towards the Pacific at Venus Bay

In her early twenties near her physical prime

Her stay in this town will not be for a long time

The lure of nostalgia is a magnetic thing

She will return to South Gippsland by the end of the Spring

With chestnut brown eyes a beauty to behold

In Warrnambool she will not live to grow old

By November she will be home in Venus Bay

Where the Tarwin river silently winds it's way

Deep, dark and slowly crawling along

In the tribal flat lands of the Bunurong