Gold Rush Poem by David Harris

In 1848, James Wilson Marshall struck gold in California
and the gold rush was on.
Men saw nothing but shiny metal
twinkling in their eyes.
None thought of the dangers
that might well lie ahead.
Along with the good
also came the bad.
Gold fever was striking everyone,
every man and woman
wanted to get there
as fast as they could
to stake a claim
and be rich overnight.
At times, it seemed a nation
became addicted to the smell of gold.
Some got rich and others didn’t,
some lived through it
and others died before it was over.
All of them had one thing on their mind.
The mother load was somewhere
and they intended it to find
back in 1848
during the gold rush days.

5 February 2008