Ever Upward

BEHOLD;
I see thee on a giant hill,
strewn with rock and tree
to block thy way.
Thy living here is not in vain,
thy climbing every day
is morning spent for good -
continue on thy way.
Thy opinion lasts;
when thou art gone,
Thy efforts will be known
to others as they climb
and make the climbing better,
in another place and time.

Fear not this life as thou must live;
be joyous when you see
a hill to climb -
start moving rock and tree.
It might well be in another time,
this hill was climbed by me.
Perhaps I failed to reach the top -
and rock still barred thy way;
Remove the rock
- continue on -
there’s no time for delay.

Thy God has placed the rock and tree
the value to uplift;
a climbing journey burdens thee
in search of HIS great gift.
The pride of self –
a worthy goal,
so climb in effort day by day.
The hill cannot be conquered when climbed with feet of clay.

H.O. Hobson

This poem was written by my great Uncle for my Mum when she was my age and at a similar stage in life. She gave it to me when I was in college and I've held onto it very carefully since then. Its one of my personal favorites.