Moving Mountains

I cannot move mountains with these two hands,
Anymore than I carry the weight of my crew on my back.
But I can move people with these words,
I can change lives.

Do not undermine me,
Or this place.
You may call me inexperienced,
Or say we’re “just at another scout camp.”
I can guarantee you,
We’re not.

It doesn’t matter what I’ve done,
It matters what I plan to do.
I’m going to change lives,
And reconstruct these views of ignorance,
In such a way that this place will be remembered.

This beautiful pile of rocks,
That we are so privileged to call home,
Will tear you down-
Piece
By
Piece.

Except,
Then it’ll show you it’s majesty,
Like lights glimmering in the shadows,
That there is purpose beyond these mounds.

I may not have been here very long,
But I can tell you everything I know.
That may not be much,
But it will be enough to make a difference.
If not to the leadership above,
If not to the peers that sit around me,
If not to my crew as a whole,
Then to a single individual that will hear me when I speak.

Philmont changes lives.
We in the Ranger Department have a motto,
“Change lives,”
But we don’t do half of that,
At least I can’t.
I don’t.
This place is what changes lives,
I am simply a guide to show there is change to be had.
And if you don’t take me for face value,

I’ll prove to you
Everything that will mean something.
If not for the words that I speak,
Or the lessons that I teach,
I’ll prove to you these mountain change people.

I cannot move mountains with these two hands,
And maybe I can’t change lives with these words,

But Philmont can do a lot more than I can.