A child gets permission to climb the hill where strawberries grow, and from that high spot she can see her whole familiar world laid out below: the playing field, roads, courthouse, bridge, blacksmith shop, church steeple, and finally her own house under the poplar tree. The view makes her curious about how home looks from a distance at different times—in the rain, with lamps lit, with family walking and children playing. There is a gentle, wondering mood here, mixing the thrill of being up high with a quiet ache to see herself inside the everyday scene she knows so well. She keeps trying to picture it, but the spell breaks when Dickie calls her to race, and Will has found the strawberry place. The moment captures how place and belonging feel to a child.
On the Hill — Summary
Mother said that we could go Up on the hill where the strawberries grow.
And while I was there I looked all down, Over the trees and over the town.
I saw the field where the big boys play, And the roads that come from every way,
The courthouse place where the wagons stop, And the bridge and the scales and the blacksmith shop.
The church steeple looked very tall and thin, And I found the house that we live in.
I saw it under the poplar tree, And I bent my head and tried to see
Our house when the rain is over it, And how it looks when the lamps are lit.
I saw the swing from up on the hill, The ropes were hanging very still.
And over and over I tried to see Some of us walking under the tree,
And the children playing everywhere, And how it looks when I am there.
But Dickie said, "Come on, let's race"; And Will had found the strawberry place.