1. The rumble of the Dardanelles shook loudly,
And the echoes penetrated the ears.

2. In it, the allies' ships loomed high,
Jostling peaks foaming with rage.

3. Their artillery bombarded but did not throw
Pebbles - rather, embers - at what they bombed.

4. Shells that, had they hit the heart of a boulder,
Would have pulverized and melted it utterly.

5. They pounded its outer fortresses until they became
Traces for onlookers.

6. The ironclads advanced into it, walking
Toward its middle towers.

7. Torrential bombs poured down on them
A rain of fire and steel.

8. They destroyed them. And when the last
Was about to taste the blow, the fiercest struck.

9. Some mines planted within it exploded,
Scattered about like seeds.

10. They were like electricity, radiating
Light when sparking a little.

11. That explosion heated the passage
Of the strait, and dread was dispelled.

12. With it, a third of the armored ships were blasted
Like chaff blown away in the wind.

13. And it was an omen to the Allies
That behind it lurked evil ready to be unleashed.

14. Impatience under difficulty failed them
When a little endurance would have brought ease.

15. So the Dardanelles remains as we see it:
Free of the shackles of captivity.