THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONIES: PLYMOUTH MASSACHUSETTS

But if to Virginia the English came to get rich,

The next colony played on a much different pitch.

The Pilgrims, you see, sought a land to call home,

To live and to worship in a way all their own.

England’s churches they found not suitably pious,

And their beliefs, in turn, were treated with bias.

A fresh start was granted, on the friendly Dutch shores,

Until America’s promise beckoned still more.

So they sailed for Virginia in 1620,

-- But of seas stormy and rough their journey saw plenty.

Hence north did they land on the banks of Cape Cod,

Worn out and weary but still trusting in God.

And on their brave little ship, called The Mayflower,

The Pilgrims arranged for a governing power.

As the forty men there aboard all agreed to abide

By all such laws a greater half would decide.

Call the Mayflower Compact, their system gave rise

To the trust and the order on which group life relies.

And after a frozen first winter that left many dead,

A pair of friends arrived to help them get fed.

Yes, Samoset and Squanto, who could speak in their tongue,

Greeted the Pilgrims and then helped them along,

Asking tribes nearby to kindly offer them seed

To grow pumpkin and squash, and so handsomely feed.

And the kindness they showed was rightly requited:

To share in a meal were the tribes gladly invited.

And since the harvest was fine and found them all living,

A feast was held to serve God with Thanks-giving.