The poem titled “The Hill” describes a cemetery located on a hill and those who are buried there. Their description always begins with the question of their current location which the narrator then answers with the statement that they are all “are sleeping on the hill” (l. 4, 10, 14, 22, 27, 31).
First there are five men, then five women, all of which are given specific monikers based on their characters and a brief description of the manner of their deaths. The next set of people is described in a more intimate way, with the narrator calling them “aunt” and “uncle” (both l. 23), using their nicknames or telling anecdotes about their lives and then following this up with stating how all sons and daughters (presumably of the town or village by said hill) are eventually brought back to be buried on this particular hill.
The last lines of the poem are dedicated to “Old Fiddler Jones” (l. 32), who, while implied to be dead, is not said to be buried on the hill like all the others. Instead, his long if somewhat irresponsible life is described.
The poem titled “Minerva Jones” is about a woman, self described as “the village poetess” (l. 1), who was mocked, bullied and eventually killed for her unfeminine looks.
She describes as the poem's first-person-narrator how she was brutally murdered by one of the men from the village and succumbed to her injuries in the care of the village's doctor.
In the last lines, she desperately asks if anyone will gather her written poetry and publish it in a book for she has always had the need for love and life (neither of which she apparently received in her lifetime).
The poem titled “Sarah Brown” is about a woman who has recently died. She is addressing a man called Maurice, her extramarital lover, who is grieving for her, while she describes the state of being dead as something wonderful.
She urges Maurice to seek out her husband who knew and disapproved of their love and make peace with him. It is implied that she died because of the affair, but she holds no grudges and concludes that in heaven she can love both men without the restrictions of marriage.
The poem titled “Herbert Marshall” is about a man, presumably dead as he is speaking in past tense, addressing his wife. He blames her for his extramarital affair, claiming that had she made him happy instead of miserable he would not have strayed.
In the last lines of the poem, he philosophizes about how people always seem to be drawn to those unable or unwilling to love them back and that this, while unfortunate, appears to be an inevitable part of life.
The poem titled “Mrs. Charles Bliss” is about a woman in an unhappy marriage.
She describes how both she and her husband considered divorce but were convinced to stay by a reverend and a judge respectively, solely for the sake of their four children. She goes on to state how this arrangement has actually harmed all children as they were always torn between their parents and never able to love both equally.
The poem concludes with her stating that in any other circumstances people would do the right thing but in this particular scenario (divorce with children) all those with authority advice against the best solution.
