Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. 1922. The Second Book of Modern Verse

Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. (1869–1948). The Second Book of Modern Verse. 1922.

Afternoon on a Hill

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)


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	5
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,	10
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!