Ralph Hall's second book of poetry, The Flowers That Grow on Yonder Hill, offers the
reader glimpses of what life was like for Hall in his younger days and his observations about
life in the twenty-first century.
The poem "Apples in a Red Pail" recalls a boy's simple chore of gathering apples for family
use. The event is not glorified or berated—it was just something a boy did.
Hall honors his grandchildren with character sketches that capture the an outstanding
characteristic of each. For example, he writes about Laureen: "...she may be little, but she
sure can get around..."
Consolidation has left many old school buildings in eastern Kentucky and Hall shows his respect
for such a school building in "The Old Empty Schoolhouse."
Hall also comments on the conditions citizens face in the present. In "He Raped the Land," the
author points out how the land of eastern Kentucky has been abused by people interested in only
money and not the welfare of the land or its people.
This is a good collection of poems about people and places in eastern Kentucky in the Appalachian
Mountains.