Knowledge is not an end in itself

Some of the best books have made me yawn-
After Nietzsche I needed a nap
And Joyce makes me question often
My ability to comprehend the written word.
Perhaps that was always his aim.

Knowledge is not an end in itself

No jump is ever made
after reading how it’s done.
I swam like a fish as a child
In the steady stream of a warm bath
But to dive into any depth was never something
Any teacher could tempt me to do.
Though it never stopped them trying

But I’d been born already aware of falling.

Knowledge is not an end in itself

Not a line in one single book
Or a simple, harmless push
Into the incoming wave.

Knowledge is how we learn to stand

Living is how we come to understand
What it takes to stand up.

All words and photos by Damien B Donnelly