I Was There...

The quiet souls that stand alone
our history's gold content;
Those stars that stand so far apart
In a lonesome firmament;
Those pilgrim souls that cut the trails
Where freeways never ran--
Help-meets they are, Each one a star
As they point the way of man.

Mary Chilton Winslow:

I stand at Plymouth Rock, so still
John Alden,came behind
A great new land, so far we've come
We sailed so far to find.
From England's wild deep and shining sea
A land of Promise here
Too soon I'm orphaned, all alone
A bride, within the year.
My family grew, My husband dear
Governed the land with pride
And history marched along the years
We could not turn the tide.
This new land proved harsh, but still with joy
Our people could not fail
And as I watched, they carved and worked
Their lives along the trail.

Sarah Chamberlain Foote:

Born in the year Sixteen-ninety three,
I watched from the bright colored land
Good folks are there, and bad folks are there
As good and as bad as man.
The people of Salem went through harsh trials
And innocent lives were lost
But time marched along, and sang it's sad song
No matter whatever the cost.
At fifteen I wed and following soon
Our family numbered to ten.
Then eighty-four years, amidst family's tears
I turned watching to followers then.

Meletiah Graves Sawyer:

In Seventeen-Sixty-six, the New Land's mine--
I claimed my birthright home.
I watched our Nation as it grew
From rocks and trees and loam.
My man wed me at seventeen,
With good and loving care
One by one, from sun to sun,
Our children joined us there.
No parent should have to bury child,
beneath the misty sod
But we bid adieu to ten of ours
and trusted them to God.
Tears and work and strife and pride--
As a couple we were tied
In smiles or sadness we got through
til my soulmate too, had died.
For five long years, we who remained,
Strove on; I trudged and prayed
At the age of seventy-one,
I crossed through the Veil, alone and unafraid.

Polly Clark Forbush:

From Massachusetts' rugged shores
We trudged o'er many a trail
Stopped for childbirth 'long the way--
but brave, we could not fail.
My man was young, his strength was great,
as on and on we came--
I rode or walked beside him now;
Utah held our claim.
Our babes, all ten were born
E'er we left the eastern state,
We'd crossed the Rocky Mountain Range
to find our golden fate.
For God had brought us 'cross the plains
to build our hard-won place.
And only He could tell the tale,
time wrote upon my face.
We settled near the great Salt Lake,
hard work to build a life
From crickets, natives, desert heat--
we shared our time of strife.
Our young were raised, we'd soon find rest,
our joys were soon made known.
At Sixty-two, my time ran short.
I traveled Home alone.



The quiet souls that stand alone
our history's gold content;
Those stars that stand so far apart
In a lonesome firmament;
Those pilgrim souls that cut the trails
Where freeways never ran--
Help-meets they are, Each one a star
As they point the way of man.

J.Lurell Bailey
21 Sep 2015