Poem: "The Voyage of Columbus"
This poem is spillover from the July 3, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Dreamwidth user Thnidu, a new participant in the fishbowl project. The form is something I made up on the spot. The first two verses are iambic pentameter quatrains (the first half of a sonnet) because Columbus was Italian. The last two are haiku because he sailed east. You can read about his historic voyages online.
The Voyage of Columbus
Columbus sailed from Spain with ninety men,
Two caravels, a larger slower rig,
Provisions to go forth and back again,
And stacks of maps and notes that were quite big.
The route was long and dangerous asea,
With storms and sharks and scurvy all at hand.
At last they spied some seagulls winging free
And followed them. The lookout shouted, "Land!"
humble fishermen
welcomed Columbus to the
islands of Japan
tea! silk! spices! pearls!
Columbus was quite thrilled with
his discoveries