A Long Way North Of

A long way north of this Southern Country from Koroit Town near Warrnambool Near Millstreet a Town in Duhallow i was born and raised and went to Millstreet School That was in the early fifties to the early sixties going back half of a century ago I now am five years with the sixty and time is becoming my foe In Claraghatlea where i was born and where i lived as a boy I first grew interested in Nature and learning of her ways to this day i enjoy The Winter months were cold, wet and dreary the cattle in sheds wintered on silage and hay They were out on grass in early April when the swallows returned from far away When Spring spread her greenery in Duhallow and hawthorns wore their white blooms of May The dipper sang in the stream rapids and the nesting birds sang to greet the day The tadpoles the baby amphibians were wriggling in the watery drain The past may be in the forever but the memories of it with me does remain I never again may see Clara in his old rugged face of brown Overlooking the green fields of Duhallow and the countryside near Millstreet Town Where i lived as a younger person as one full of youthful elan I am looking and feeling older and time has left me an ageing man.