Afternoon on a Hill

(The Monongahela, a river flowing through Pennsylvania
and West Virginia, white-line woodcut by Blanche Lazelle,
1876-1936, American artist)

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was a prolific writer of novels, libretti, lyric poems, and some of America’s finest sonnets. Her poetry could be flippant and even brittle at times, but her best work reflects a sensitivity and appreciation of beauty and nature.

AFTERNOON ON A HILL

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!