Love and Hate in

the Jamestown
Colony
Melissa Peart

Long ago there were some men

Inspired by power, greed and curiosity
Perhaps, adulation and vainglory
Glory hound
FOR GOD, GOLD and GLORY
Across the Sea they came
Gold, Silver and a new route to seek

Religion an afterthought
First came the Spanish, Then the
Portuguese
So they say
The French, The Dutch, The English were
soon to Follow
Never thinking of the Sorrow
Trying to find Gold, Jewels, Silks,
Perfumes, Spices

Their Mantra:

Cant go over it!

Cant go under it!
Cant go around it!
Got to find a way to it!

On they came
With adventure in their veins
Granted their first charter by King James
the first
The entire area claimed by England to a
joint stock company: The Virginia
Company of London
First of its kind

When as the Luscious smell of land

Above the sea that flows
The clear wind throws
Their hearts filled with pride
On the May 23rd 1607 they came
And claimed the land their own
Jamestown they called it after the crown.

Now unhomed
Bereft of root, kith and kin
Aristocrats and Artisans they were
Gold on the Brain
They forgot...they needed to live; move
and have their being
The natives they disregarded
Civilize them!
Savages! Savages! Barely even human!

Observed by the natives

In marshy lands that proved their
detriment
Malnutrition and Disease soon claimed
victims
Constant fear became their friend
Until the Chief traded subsistence
No women among their group
These men begun to venture out
Seeking bed mates to play with
Many paid dearly for the thrill

John Smith was one who nearly lost his life

A hired military hand with delegation
experience
A known story teller,
This proved enough to save his skin
When Openchancanough did not kill him
It was not over yet
He still had to face
Powhatan, the king
When he did, on he told his tall tales
And for a moment this seemed to work

Until it was decided,

Enough, Away with him
Then in ran a little girl, Pocahantas to
save his life
So significant was this act that today it is
legend
She many times since proved an ally
without being given
Trinkets and things just werent her game
But would John Smith prove to be the
same.

Later she met and fell for John Rolfe, a

Tobacco Farmer
The man who stole her heart
Rolfe resisted as best he could
As a laughingstock he thought he would
be
But finally He gave in, to this vital exotic,
captive princess
And made her his wife in 1614 as a part of
a peace treaty

In England you see this forest child

The guest of King and Queen
Maintaining well her dignity
And proud, yet glorious
Look at her you fiends!
Not uncouth as you pretend her to be

Beautiful, Stately
She became a part of you
The regalia, the customs, the lively
society
All were so enthralling it ended up taking
her life
This princess, this beauty, this queen
Always will she remain a legend and not
quite what it seems