We sailed and sailed upon the desert sea br Where for whole days we alone seemed to be. br At last we saw a dim, vague line arise br Between the empty billows and the skies, br That grew and grew until it wore the shape br Of cove and inlet, promontory and cape; br Then hills and valleys, rivers, fields, and woods, br Steeples and roofs, and village neighborhoods. br And then I thought, “Sometime I shall embark br Upon a sea more desert and more dark br Than ever this was, and between the skies br And empty billows I shall see arise br Another world out of that waste and lapse, br Like yonder land.