The Great Omar

The book had 1,051 semiprecious stones,
Set in 18-carat gold, many in the cover alone,
5,000 separate pieces of collared leathers,
And 100 square feet of 22-carat feathered
Gold leaf in the tooling and the edges weathered.

It went down, down, the sounds whirling around,
When the ice broke through the Titanic’s crown.
Vivid illustrations by Elihu Vedder’s artistry
Adorn the passages of metaphysical poetry.