Sandburg’s short lines capture a spring landscape that feels both fresh and familiar. The speaker senses a quiet amazement in the air, as if old things have returned with new life over the pastures and roads. Lowland grass is thick and green, and the higher ground seems to call from one hill to another. Even the “great strong hills” are not proud or overwhelming; they are humble. The feeling is one of gentle awakening—there is no rush or noise, only a peaceful sense that the land is alive again. A calm, open-air mood runs through the whole piece, mixing nostalgia with the freshness of May. It invites the reader to imagine standing in a wide, green countryside where everything, from grass to hills, shares in the return of spring.
Uplands in May — Summary
Wonder as of old things Fresh and fair come back Hangs over pasture and road. Lush in the lowland grasses rise And upland beckons to upland. The great strong hills are humble.