| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 706. Hope |
| | | By William Dean Howells |
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| WE sailed and sailed upon the desert sea | |
| Where for whole days we alone seemed to be. | |
| At last we saw a dim, vague line arise | |
| Between the empty billows and the skies, | |
| That grew and grew until it wore the shape | 5 |
| Of cove and inlet, promontory and cape; | |
| Then hills and valleys, rivers, fields, and woods, | |
| Steeples and roofs, and village neighborhoods. | |
| And then I thought, “Sometime I shall embark | |
| Upon a sea more desert and more dark | 10 |
| Than ever this was, and between the skies | |
| And empty billows I shall see arise | |
| Another world out of that waste and lapse, | |
| Like yonder land. Perhaps—perhaps—perhaps!” | |
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