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