On The Adelaide Hills

There is not one gray cloud in the blue and sunny sky
Where the brown hills of Adelaide are so bare and dry
Not a sight of an animal sheep, goat, cow, roo, rabbit or hare
Just shriveled tufts of grass where the sun dried ground is bare
Off of the highway on the Adelaide Hills few trees to be seen
The undulating paddocks i have never seen healthy and green
The kangaroos and wallabies from the Adelaide Hills in drought times migrate
To travel for food and water the need in them does create
The Adelaide Hills are always thirsting for rain
Where years of drought have dried out every creek and drain
All life sucked from the earth by the thirsty sun and breeze
The only flora that survives there hardy small slow growing trees
The high undulating hills of lots of rain are in need
To instil the growth in every dormant grass seed.

A Farewell To Adelaide

Farewell to where friends are so easily made
To the bright and sunny City of old Adelaide
To where many do greet you with a happy smile
I will be returning though not for awhile
In the beautiful City by the southern sea
This morning i eat my last sandwich and drank my last cup of tea
Before saying goodbye to this beautiful place
The City that often has a sunny face
From Adelaide this evening i will be far away
But to there i will return in some future day
Yes i will be returning as often before
To the grand old City on the southern shore
And until i return to old Adelaide again
Good memories of this visit with me are bound to remain.

I Am From The Fields

I am from the fields where the green rushes grow
The home of the badger and rook and grey crow
And in my flights of fancy i often do hear
The song of the robin in the Spring of the year

All creatures of Nature live by Nature's law
I knew them by sight and voice magpie and jackdaw
And though my love of Nature only seems to grow
So little about her i can claim to know

Far from where i first looked on the bright lamp of day
The years have left me feeling weary and looking gray
It has been awhile since i was in my life's prime
Eventually we all become victims of time

Yet of Nature we learn something new every day
We never stop learning as the wise one does say
Though mortality is a fact of life and fact never lie
We do learn as we live till the day we do die

Far north of this sunny Land my life's journey began
And near the bracken clad hills i grew into a man
But my quest for adventure has brought me far south
Of the home of the raven and the shy river trout

But in Spring on my flights of fancy the chaffinch i hear
Singing in a leafy grove to my thoughts ever near
And on a Summer evening i hear the soft lowing of a cow
In a darkening field by the River Finnow

I am from the fields where the silver tongued rill
Babbles to the river from it's birthplace by the hill
But only the good memories with me do remain
Of what used to be and may not be again.

Sad Thoughts To Melancholia

Sad thoughts to melancholia does give rise
And fill with tears the tear wells of the eyes
Even in a happy crowd one can be very sad
For life's happier moments one ought to feel glad
Though few wish to know of a sad sack of the town
In life for most there is many an up and down
So few who live as happy every day
We have our lighter and darker moods life is this way
Yesterday he whistled a lively and happy air
And today he is in a dark mood of despair
Of the good days and the bad days most do know
So few with the gift of the constant inner glow
Sometimes sad thoughts to melancholia does give rise
And fill with tears the tear wells of the eyes.

Noisy Miners

The birds who wage war on other birds every day
And from their territories do chase them away
The aggressive noisy miners in feathers of mottled grey
In mobs have even been known to tackle large birds of prey

Their territories with aggression they do defend
Any other species of birds to them are not a friend
They do have aggression in their warring call
With them it is all for one and one for all

They do invade territories as their numbers do grow
And to other birds mercy they never do show
For their aggressive behaviour noisy miners are known
In birds as in humans it is to each their own

Wherever they do live they do rule by fear
They do not tolerate other birds who to them live near
Birds of the park-lands of many a coastal town
To be amongst Australia's most aggressive flock birds their claim to renown.

Andrew Hickey

Andrew Hickey lived in Millstreet Town perhaps all of his long life
On Main Street he and Mary nee O Donoghue had a hardware store his devoted wife
In Millstreet Town they raised their children where Andrew was well liked and well known
And it can be said of him that he was one of Millstreet's own

It can be truly said of Andrew that he was a gentleman
One who never harmed anybody in his very long life span
He will be missed by friends and family where his was a well loved face
Millstreet for him living in it surely was a better place

Andrew Hickey in his lifetime was one who never made a foe
One of the nicest and kindest of people of the Millstreet of long ago
Sad to think he will not be seen in Millstreet Town in the flesh again
But good memories of the person he was in all who knew him will remain

Never to be seen in the flesh again on the streets of Millstreet Town
One who lived by good example and in deeds or words never put anyone down
Such a good and decent person though his gift of life from him has gone
In the minds of all who knew him good memories of him will live on

Gone from the Town of Millstreet where he first saw light of day
But it can be said of Andrew Hickey that he was a good person in every way
His heart that beat with kindness by Life's Reaper rendered still
Is now at rest forever in the quiet by Cashman's Hill.

They Have Their Own Battles

Many to fight wars do not have to go to Lands far away
They have their own battles to fight every day
Their battle is for survival in their home-place
Each day brings to them a new challenge to face
The people who lose big for others to win
Luxury to their kind would be a home to live in
A flat or a unit for to call their own
Homelessness and hunger to them are well known
For basic survival they struggle to cope
And of a better tomorrow only live in hope
Where they live a millionaire you will not meet
The poorest of the poor live on Poverty Street
To fight wars they do not have to go to Lands far away
They have their own battles to fight every day.