3. Beginners' Hill - Lee Nelson

Beginners’ Hill  

And to those who may feel
they were never allowed
That the hills were the place
from where others looked down
Then know all that you need
is to feel the pull
of necessity up
against gravity down
and to walk –
go forwards and onwards
and upwards will come  

Now, tramp the chalk down¹ and climb
Because the view is always better from the top of the hill
and there’s only one way
to be sure that you see it  

Then you pass on that view
to the ones that come after
You pass on that perspective
to the ones that come after  

So, go there, ascend
and once you’re up
sit down, form a ring
talk
listen
plan  

Form a plan
because on the other side of a summer like this one
who knows where you might land
what you might have got done  

Let tomorrow and tomorrow²
and tomorrow come
take your land
take your time
The climb is the cause
and the cause is the climb




¹Elvis Costello
²William Shakespeare