'Cargoes'
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amethysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.
Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.
John Masefield
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2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
So this poem by John Masefield is where Poul Anderson found the title for his "Ivory, Apes, and Peacocks."
Hmmm, and is the prosaic practicality of the goods being shipped by the British coaster in the last verse meant to show the items it shipped was of more real value than the exotic products seen in the other verses?
Sean
"prosaic practicality"
Which reminds me of a week or two ago, watching a *long* train of 'Canpotex' cars heading east through Calgary to Saskatchewan to pick up more potash to fertilize land somewhere in the world. Meanwhile, another major supplier to the world of that vital commodity is not supplying as much because of Putin's War.
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