Pilgrims, a poem
From the Author’s Opening Notes:
On the Composition of the Poem
Pilgrims was developed and composed during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I drafted and polished the book while sheltering alone in my studio apartment in New York City. I wanted to develop my own poetic portrayal of the events described by the few personal accounts of the settlement of Plymouth Colony in New England.
For this, I studied the writing of William Bradford and Edward Winslow primarily. I also gained insight from the letters of John Pory, Emmanuel Altham and Isaack de Rasieres as they are collected in Three Visitors to Early Plymouth. In the poem there is one phrase quoted from Azel Ames and about two dozen scattered phrases quoted from Bradford and Winslow, such as Winslow’s phonetic rendering of the Algonquin dialect spoken by the Wampanoags.
The dating and sequencing of the events in the poem were provided by William Bradford and Edward Winslow principally. Three Visitors to Early Plymouth also provided more information for some specific dates. The log of the Mayflower published by Azel Ames was also helpful for events through April 5, 1621, which was the Mayflower’s departure date from Plymouth Bay in New England. Some dates were also provided by editors of the primary sources such as William Bradford’s marriage to Alice Carpenter Southworth in Plymouth on August 14, 1623.
Without question, the famous events at Plymouth Colony did happen. For example, there was a first Thanksgiving – although the Pilgrims would not have referred to it as such – which occurred in 1621 and Ousamequin, the Massasoit of the Wampanoags, attended with about 90 Sachems and Pnieses. This harvest festival at Plymouth transpired over 3 days. Edward Winslow gave a personal account of the event in Mourt’s Relation. However, the manner by which the event is portrayed and brought to life is the art of the storyteller. Pilgrims is a poem, not a scholarly or historical text. I took liberties in depicting some events where there are few descriptive details in the primary sources. However, mindful of my poetic license, I took care to preserve the accuracy and spirit of this historic story.
Table of Contents
— 1620 --
1. Elder William Brewster’s Sermon
2. The Belligerent Sailor
3. Sea Burial
4. The Broken Beam
5. Man Overboard
6. Land Ho!
7. The Mayflower Compact
8. First Expedition
9. Second Expedition
10. Interval
11. Keg of Powder
12. Third Expedition
— 1621 --
13. Building the Town / Billington’s Sea
14. The Rendezvous
15. The Great Sickness
16. Military Orders
17. Samoset
18. Samoset Returns
19. Spring
20. Massasoit Ousamequin
21. Tisquantum Teaches
22. The Mayflower’s Departure
23. John Carver
24. Memorial
25. The Town’s Election
26. First Pilgrim Marriage at Plymouth
27. Envoy to Ousamequin
28. Journey to Nauset
29. The Shadow of Sachem Corbitant
30. Envoy to the Massachusetts
31. The First Thanksgiving
32. Fortune
33. Weston’s Letter
34. The Governor’s House
— 1622 --
35. The Narragansett Threat
36. Fortification and Drill
37. Envoy to the Massachusetts Delayed
38. Tisquantum’s Accusations
39. Tisquantum’s Deception Exposed
40. Saving Tisquantum / Ousamequin’s Demand
41. The Sparrow’s Shallop
42. Thomas Weston’s Deception
43. More Rationing
44. The Meetinghouse
45. Charity
46. Strength in Weakness
47. Discovery
48. Thankless Giving
49. The Shoals
50. Tisquantum, the Passing of a Friend
51. Returning from the Shoals
— 1623 --
52. Weston’s Settlement Fractures
53. Visit to Sowams
54. Guests of Sachem Corbitant
55. Hobomock Reveals the Plot against the Pilgrims
56. Captain Standish Rescues Weston’s Men
57. An Unexpected Visitor
58. Private Enterprise
59. The Courage to Carry On
60. The Anne’s Arrival
61. Reaching an Agreement at the Town Meeting
62. Wedding Day
63. Negotiating Wages for the Crew of the Little James
64. A Visit from the Governor General
65. The Great Fire
— 1624 --
66. Annual Elections
67. Winslow’s Return
68. Plymouth Council / Oldham’s Confession
69. Hopes and Joys
70. John Lyford
71. For One and All
72. The Trial
73. Constantly Inconstant
74. Raising the Pinnace
— 1625 --
75. John Oldham Returns
76. Gaining Independence
— Epilogue --
1626 and 1627
Appendixes
1. Mayflower Compact
2. “The names of those which came over first”
from William Bradford’s Of Plimoth Plantation
3. Maps