Every Child

by: Edna Casler Joll

Every child should know a hill
And the clean joy of running down its long slope

With the wind in his hair

He should know a tree--

The comfort of its cool lap of shade

And the supple strength of its arms

Balancing him between earth and sky

So he is the creature of both.

He should know bits of singing water--

The strange mysteries of its depths

And the long grasses that border it.

Every child should know some scrap

Of uninterrupted sky to shout against,

And have one star dependable and bright
For wishing on.