RAIN ON THE HILL Now on the hill The fitful wind is so still That never a wimpling mist uplifts, Nor a trembling leaf drop-laden stirs; From the ancient firs Aroma of balsam drifts, And the silent places are filled With elusive odors distilled By the rain from asters empearled and frilled, And a wild wet savor that dwells Far adown in tawny fallows and bracken dells. Then with a rush, Breaking the beautiful hush Where the only sound was the lisping, low Converse of raindrops, or the dear sound Close to the ground, That grasses make when they grow, Comes the wind in a gay, Rollicking, turbulent way, To winnow each bough and toss each spray, Piping and whistling in glee With the vibrant notes of a merry minstrelsy. 47