A ship from far Cathay in sea most wild did stray,
With the vessel of the Filip under sun's bright ray.
Brief the clash, yet spoke of storms 'twixt the free and enslaved,
An omen of foreboding in the waves that lashed and raved.

On Gazas weeping shores, a bitter siege unfolds,
Warrior's steel meets stone, a tale of valor old.
Yet the prize comes steep, soaked in blood and strife,
The spoils of war, claimed only at the cost of life.

Across the great green sea, where the eagle soars,
Debt mounts like storm-heads, ever up it roars.
In the lands of ancient kings, wisdom has its hold,
Their coffers by the lessons of past crises are controlled.

by Æthelred the Skald

a centaur