FriendBurst Blog

This was written to the “fable with a moral lesson of courage and perseverance” theme of the CPC Friday Fling poetry challenge.

PILGRIMS’ PROGRESS

I hear it said that the Pilgrims weren’t so great
because Jamestown was settled at an earlier date.
More important, Puritan Pilgrims could not agree
about how authoritarian and communal their society should be.

Then there is how they robbed the natives of land
(though the victims had no notion of ownership at hand).
Wars were provoked to justify murder and thieving,
while innocent native tribes were left grieving.

But such negatives show a basic unwillingness
to give any doubt benefit, to see no good in their business,
which makes one suspect there are motives ulterior
or at least a jaundiced view of life lies in their interior.

For it cannot be denied that the Pilgrims were brave
to travel so far while risking a damp ocean grave.
Once they had finally arrived over here,
each one and all had plenty to fear.

That was a purpose of giving their thanks
for all the live bodies which remained in their ranks;
and for all of the bounty they had managed to make
or find, it was time to share rather than take.

The moral of their story should inspire not depress,
for it took courage and perseverence at its best,
both to make the long journey to unknown locations,
then stake their very lives in brand new situations.

Copyright November 22nd 2012 RGD