‘Give everything a go and experience life.’

It’s a simple line, but one that has shaped the life of poet and Collegian Mark Wheeler (Hall House 1982–1985). It was also the quiet mantra of his mother, Hannah Wheeler, who worked as Clark House Matron at St Paul’s from 1983 to 1993. “Mum was always up for a challenge,” Mark says. “The year I sat School Cert, she did too. I was a bit embarrassed at the time, but looking back, it taught me a lot about giving things a go.”

That attitude has taken Mark through many chapters – from the Navy to the Netherlands, and from his OE to poetry. “I’ve worked in many jobs, mainly because I never wanted to get stuck in one career,” he says. He now works at a confidential storage and destruction business in Hamilton, but poetry is his real passion.

He began writing more seriously in 2013, when a close friend was struggling. “I didn’t know how to help, so I wrote her a poem,” he says. “It made a difference, and something clicked for me.” Mark had often written light-hearted poems in cards, but this one had a different weight. Since then, poetry has become part of his daily routine. “I try to spend a little time each day gathering my thoughts. The poems come from me, or they’re to me. I love it.”

His poems fall under the name Free Fall Poetry, honouring people and experiences that have shaped his life, reflecting thoughts that flow from him. His work has included tributes to his parents, his wife, and his children, as well as things he sees around him and the world we live in. Mark’s daughter, who lives with him and his wife in Whatawhata, brings him a great deal of joy. “She reminds me of Mum – in how she looks, how she acts. It’s pretty special.” His son lives in the UK and works as a carpenter.

At the end of Sixth Form (Year 11), Mark joined the Navy, following two of his older brothers. He served for four years, including two aboard the HMNZS Waikato between 1987 and 1989. “We did the Australian Bicentennial Naval Review and were out in the Tasman during Cyclone Bola,” he recalls. Later, he travelled through Holland and the UK on an overseas adventure.

Seventeen years ago, Mark made a conscious decision to stop drinking. “It wasn’t an addiction, just bad habits,” he says. “I wanted to live more intentionally.”

His advice for others reflects that same mindset. In the final lines of his poem Lord, he writes:

‘Don’t live life as if it was your last day on earth,
Live it as if it was your first.’

Three of Mark’s poems are included to read. Click here.