La Pelegrina, The Pearl

La Pelegrina, pearl to delight the eyes Found by a slave in the gulf of Panama Don Pedro, governor, then freed The man for bringing to him such a prize Philip of Spain became its royal owner Gifted to Tudor Mary, a love token She wore it as a pendant to a brooch Bloody Mary, by martyr burnings broken In Vedic texts, all pearls on earth are born Out of the water and by moonlight's power Some say that pearls are tears shed by the gods Eve's eyes dropped pearls when she left her bower Napoleon's brother, owned the gem as booty The Duke of Abercorn, acquired her, too Till Burton, with the money from his movies Bought her to woo Liz Taylor, Hollywood Royalty Cartier setting the pearl with diamonds, rubies. In Asia a pearl necklace aids fertility In Polynesian lore, the pearl is black The Chinese love gold pearls: they bring prosperity In many Eastern cultures, pearls are souls And mourners placed them in the dead man's mouth At Christie's in New York, La Pelegrina Fetched ten million dollars. Such great wealth! So, does the pearl really own the owner? What should a glossy stone be really worth?