A Mysterious Poem

This is a kind of puzzle poem. It seems to date from the 16th or 17th Century. Think about for a while, and it sounds like a prediction from the past. The images that it create in your mind are visionary.

Here's the closest rendition to the original:

I saw a peacock with a fiery tail
I saw a blazing comet drop down hail
I saw a cloud with ivy circled round
I saw a sturdy oak creep on the ground
I saw a pismire swallow up a whale
I saw a raging sea brim full of ale
I saw a Venice glass sixteen foot deep
I saw a well full of men's tears that weep
I saw their eyes all in a flame of fire
I saw a house as big as the moon and higher
I saw the sun even in the midst of night
I saw the man that saw this wondrous sight.

- Anonymous (before 1665)

It may sound weird when you read it, but if you punctuate it with a period or a comma in the middle of each line, it makes perfect sense. Example:

• I saw a peacock(,) with a fiery tail
• I saw a blazing comet(,) drop down hail

Note: "Pismire" is an archaic term for ant.

In some versions of the poems, the highlighted parts differ slightly.

• I saw a cloud wrapped with ivy round
• I saw an oak creep upon the ground
• I saw the sea brimful of ale
• I saw a Venice glass full fifteen feet deep
• I saw red eyes all of a flaming fire
• I saw a house bigger than the moon and higher
• I saw the sun at twelve o'clock at night

PS: The picture is unrelated. I just picked something suitable.