Poems (Millay)/Pastoral

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Pastoral

If it were only still—With far away the shrillCrying of a cock;Or the shaken bellFrom a cow's throatMoving through the bushes;Or the soft shockOf wizened apples fallingFrom an old treeIn a forgotten orchardUpon the hilly rock!

Oh, grey hill,Where the grazing herdLicks the purple blossom,Crops the spiky weed!Oh, stony pasture,Where the tall mulleinStands up so sturdyOn its little seed!