But barer in front.

“A land of chasm and rent, a land

Of rugged blackness on either hand;

If water trickled, its track was tanned

With an edge of rust to the chink;

If one stamped on stone or on sand,

It returned a clink.

“A lifeless land, a loveless land,

Without lair or nest on either hand

Only scorpions jerked in the sand,