The Groundwork of Realization

By Thorne J. McFarlane

In the opening stanzas of The Groundwork of Realization, we are introduced to our protagonist : the young artist yearning to be heard and struggling to realize his true potential but very much lost in the ways of man.

The path to maturity isnt an easy one. Journeying from hollow ground to higher ground, the young artist must strive for self-realization.

In this short collection of poetry, Thorne McFarlane reflects on life, truth, and purpose while weaving a coming-of-age tale of a young mans transformation from despair and disillusionment to hope and clarity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546247326

Thorne J. McFarlane

Thorne J. McFarlane is a writer from York, Pennsylvania. Growing up in the shadow of a painful, life-threatening disease, he discovered his passion for storytelling at an early age. He often blogs about poetry and writing in general. You can find him on Twitter or Facebook.

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© 2018 Thorne J. McFarlane. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/20/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-4733-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-4732-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018907177

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Introduction

From Hollow Ground

Ruins of Solitude

In Illuminated Likeness

Brick Wall Blues (And Hedged Hope Too)

Five Suits

A Six-Letter Disease

The Jaded Misanthrope

The Celestial Watchers

The Broken Things

The Other Side

Life’s DysFUNctional Waltz

On Common Ground

Two-Ton War Machine

These Words

This Is Why I Write

Exit Page Left

All Things Desired

Get to Higher Ground!

Acknowledgments

Introduction

When a man does not realise his kinship with the world, he lives in a prison-house whose walls are alien to him. When he meets the eternal spirit in all objects, then is he emancipated, for then he discovers the fullest significance of the world into which he is born; then he finds himself in perfect truth, and his harmony with the all is established.

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Rabindranath Tagore,

Sadhana: The Realisation of Life

It is customary for some authors to preface their text with a rambling introduction about what inspired them to write their book. I am cautious to avoid making the same fatal mistake.

I will simply say that as a shy, sickly kid growing up in a Pennsylvania town you’ve likely never heard of, writing was one of the few avenues available to me. My childhood dream was to become a songwriter, and I suppose my poetry reflects this to a large degree, with their chorus-like refrains.

I envisioned The Groundwork of Realization not as a collection of poems but rather an experiment in poetic storytelling. My goal was to tell a coming-of-age story, while simultaneously exploring an important but complex question: What does it really mean to be an adult?

Is adulthood merely a biological marker—an age at which one reaches a certain level of maturation and self-realization? Perhaps, adulthood is a journey and not a destination, a continual process of psychosocial development. The question of defining adulthood becomes more frayed upon closer examination.

I attempted to capture that nuance in The Groundwork of Realization, from the materialism of The Broken Things to the ephemerality of "The