Miles Standish [1584 - 1656] by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet
Miles Standish [1584 - 1656] by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet Miles Standish was a little man, a soldier from his youth, He said he'd fought the Spaniards and I think he told the truth, For he could fire a musketoon and he could build a fort And the Pilgrims all admired him, though he wasn't quite their sort. Tom Morton was a merry man and liked a merry frolic, He said, "These long-nosed Pilgrims give an honest heart the colic!" He built a place called Merry Mount to serve his merry ends And danced around a Maypole with a lot of rowdy friends. The Pilgrims were indignant, for they didn't like his game, They said his merry Maypole was an idol and a shame, They vowed that it was scandalous to dance to such a tune, So they ordered out Miles Standish, with his fav'rite musketoon. "Ho,ho!" laughed Morton, merrily, "'Tis only Captain Shrimp!" "Hew down yon idol!" Standish roared and made him feel quite lim...