Immigrants

[Mark A Becker]

of wooden crosses, laced with ropes,  weren't the crosses on their sails?
The 'wooden crosses' represent the rigging.  A link to what I was picturing (being in Virginia):  https://www.jyfmuseums.org/visit/jamesto...ad-image-9

looming over the shore.                    
and wouldn't they loom over the horizon, or the bay, rather than as close as the shore?
Probably a bit of license on my part, as I imagine the Native Americans' perspective. 

with shiny headgear   shining?
I first went with 'shining' then went with 'shiny'- either one works, I think. That said, I now prefer 'unusual' to further point up the different appearance of the newcomers- the first immigrants. It also allows me to 'sneak in' eleven 'L' sounds in the final two stanzas.

bright, colorful banners,  
maybe something more specific about the decoration of the banners?
The piece is about the arrival, so I didn't want to go overboard with a lot of description of the banners- that could be a whole other poem.

With so much made about the subject of immigration these days, I wanted to offer some perspective.
Thanks for your comments Tim- much appreciated.
Mark

ps- Not sure how, but your comments helped me solve the final line