The first few winters in the New World were treacherous for the new colonists. The settlers of the Plymouth colony died in droves from both sickness and starvation. In this verse, the necessity of rationing the meager food resources is set along side the abundant moral reserves of the people. Long a part of New England holiday tradition--before the turkey is carved each member of the family is served a mere five kernals of corn, after which this inspiring poem is recited--the rememberance of Plymouth has become a symbol of the incredible blessing of this land.

*Reprinted from George Grant's: The American Patriot's Handbook. Poem by Hezekiah Butterworth

Five Kernals Of Corn

Twas the year of the famine in Plymouth of old,

The ice and the snow from the thatched roofs had rolled;

Through the warm purple skies steered the geese o're the seas,

And the woodpeckers tapped in the clocks of the trees;

And the boughs on the slopes to the South winds lay bare,

And dreaming of summer, the buds swelled in the air.

The pale Pilgrams welcomed each reddening morn;

There were left but for rations Five Kernals of Corn.

Five Kernals of Corn!

Five Kernals of Corn!

But to Bradford a feast were Five Kernals of Corn!

"Five Kernals of Corn! Five Kernals of Corn!

Ye people, be glad for Five Kernals of Corn!"

So Bradford cried out on bleak Burial Hill,

And the thin women stood in their doors, white and still.

"Lo, the harbor of Plymouth rolls bright in the Spring,

The maples grow red, and the wood robins sing,

The west wind is blowing, and fading the snow

And the pleasant pines sing, and arbutuses blow.

Five Kernals of Corn!

Five Kernals of Corn!

To each one be given Five Kernals of Corn!"

O Bradford of Austerfield haste on thy way.

The west winds are blowing o'er Provincetown Bay,

The white avens bloom, but the pine domes are chill,

And new graves have furrowed Precisioners' Hill!

"Give thanks, all ye people, the warm skies have come,

The hilltops are sunny, and green grows the holm,

And the trumpets of winds, and the white March is gone,

And ye still have left you Five Kernals of Corn.

Five Kernals of Corn!

Five Kernals of Corn!

Ye have for Thanksgiving Five Kernals of Corn!

"The raven's gift eat and be humble and pray,

A new light is breaking, and Truth leads your way;

One taper a thousand shall kindle: rejoice

That to you has been given the wilderness voice!"

O Bradford of Austerfield, daring the wave,

And safe though the sounding blasts leading the brave,

Of deeds such as thine was the free nation born,

And the festal world signs the "Five Kernals of Corn."

Five Kernals of Corn!

Five Kernals of Corn!

The nation gives thanks for Five Kernals of Corn!

To the Thanksgiving Feast bring Five Kernals of Corn!

Happy Thanksgiving--May God Bless each and everyone of you!

-Chris & Sarah Slager