The Last Hill That Shows You All The Valley

by Clive James and Pete Atkin

On the last hill that shows you all the valley
Look back to see what little's to be seen
Burned books left over from the rally
A worker-priest left bleeding in the alley
And realise this place was never green

On the last hill that shows you all your travel
Look back to see your tepees disappear
A team of army dump-trucks full of gravel
Comes to fill the graves and tamp them level
The buffalo will not return this year

On the last hill that brands you as a dreamer
Look back to see the dreams were always true
The Persians went ashore at Iwo Jima
Christ was in the gold mines at Kolyma
Denounced because his mother was a Jew

On the last hill that shows you all the battle
Look back to everywhere you cried for joy
The killer-dogs run down your barren cattle
Your kid Cassandra walks collecting metal
And you'll see when those rows of dust-clouds settle
There are helicopters on the walls of Troy