Hamilton Fish Armstrong, ed. The Book of New York Verse. 1917.
The Columbus Parade, 1893Starr Hoyt Nichols
H
Oarless and sailless, heedless of the breeze
Drive their colossal prow with conquering ease
Against the thrusting of an adverse tide;
And ’mid them three curved caravels—the pride
Of bold Columbus, when he clove the seas,
The windy sport of what storm-gods might please,
Seeking strange ports where keel did never ride,
Yet these leviathans are proud to dip
Their bright flags to the pigmy counterpart
Of his slight ships; and from the flame-wreathed lip
Of thundering cannon cheer his dauntless heart.
Greater than Cæsar’s fortunes carried well
The fragile oak of Christopher’s caravel.