I left that town by Clara hill one cold December day <br />And Clara with the bracken face wore Winter cap of grey <br />I travelled to a distant Land thousands of miles away <br />But I vowed that I would return to greet the flowers of May. <br /> <br />So many Seasons since gone by and my vow I've failed to keep <br />And I've broken a promise to myself but self promises come cheap <br />I did not return to greet the May and see the flowers of Spring <br />And walk down through the leafy grove and hear the dunnock sing. <br /> <br />Why should I wish to go back home when I can visualize <br />And hear the airborne skylark sing in cloudy Irish skies <br />And why should I wish to travel far thousands of miles away <br />When in my heart I still can see those windblown flowers of May? <br /> <br />I still feel a true Irishman and I still call Ireland home <br />And for green fields of Duhallow such great love I have known <br />But who can knock these Sherbrook hills where gums reach towards the sky <br />Where magpie flute and kookaburra laugh and beauty greet the eye. <br /> <br />And I've got an Australian wife and she's been good for me <br />And she could never live too far from her own family <br />And if I felt Homesick which I'm not with her I still would stay <br />To nostalgia for trust and love I never could give way. <br /> <br />I left my home by Millstreet Town more than sixteen years ago <br />When Clara wore a snowy cap and Winter winds did blow <br />I vowed that I'd return in Spring, my vow I did not keep <br />And I broke a promise to myself but self promises come cheap.<br /><br />Francis Duggan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/self-promises-come-cheap/
