The Getting of Wisdom: A Collection of Poetry from My Youth

By Mark St John

The Getting of Wisdom is a journey rather than a destination. This collection of verses outlines one young mans thoughts and feelings on a variety of themes and subjects that we are confronted with throughout our everyday lives. The business of growing up is tricky. Getting to know this world and our place in it is a constant struggle as is the much more difficult task of getting to know ones true self.

The worst of bets that a young man regrets
From the irrational to the absurd
Is the search for truth when in his youth
Within the written word

Life throws up a variety of obstacles that can hinder a persons own pursuit of happiness. Writing is magic. Writing is my respite. Through the glorious gift of words and a process of deep reflection comes this heart wrenching exploration of one mans struggle for inner contentment and the Getting of Wisdom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: May 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499000245

Mark St John

Mark St John is a journalist and writer from NSW, Australia. He is an Editor and writer for Inside Rugby Magazine and has committed his spare time to writing novels, a collection of short stories and poetry. He lives in Rose Bay in Sydney. ‘The Getting of Wisdom’ is his first published book.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Mark St John.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905932

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4990-0023-8

Softcover 978-1-4990-0022-1

eBook 978-1-4990-0024-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 03/28/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

617441

Contents

Ode to Poets

The Writer

The Two of Me

Waste

The Heart

Self-Knowledge

To Walk Where Someone’s Been

Letting Go

A Friend

Life’s Simplicity

The Drink

Anger

The Pessimist

Imagination

For Her

Addiction

Disparity

Grief

Fear

Sadness

Revenge

The Search

Craziness

Regret

Pride

The Fighter

For my parents

Graeme and Mary Jane, my sisters Eliza and

Emily and my brother Mike.

And for any young people out there who have ever

found in their lives a little more sadness

than they knew how to deal with

Authors Note

I’ll admit the title of this book is a little ambiguous. In no way am I suggesting that at 26 years of age I have obtained true wisdom. ‘The Getting of Wisdom’ to me is a journey rather than a destination. Age is not a measure of an individual’s wisdom rather it is what they learn from their trials and tribulations at any given point in their life that can make a person a little wiser for the