Everyone Has a Different Favourite: A Collection of Poems

By C.S. Grey

These poems were almost all written on the spur of the moment. I sat up at 2
am tapping on the keyboard and when I had finished, the poem Insomnia was
on the page. Bones (A True Dog Story) comes from the stories my father tells
of his hunting dog. The way he tells about the eel episode always brings a
laugh. The Greatest Eagle, Under the Scorching sun and The Real Pharaoh all
come from my love of wild things. I Want to be a Sailor and When I put to
sea came from my love of the sea and being on ships and boats. I wrote My
Country, My Home while sitting on a cliff top overlooking the west coast of
New Zealand, which also inspired The old Lady on the Hill. Changing Seasons
was the first piece I wrote and people who read it encouraged me to do more.
A Life on the Land is about a friend of a friend.
My favourite poem, The rising storm, was written during a particularly violent
thunderstorm. I had to write it by torchlight as the power had gone out.
I am the river comes from my love of fishing, as does Where the shadows
lie. The saddest of all the poems in this collection, The Last Goodbye, is
a tribute to a very good friend (who was also my first girlfriend) who was
killed in early 2010 aged 30. For some time now I have had a dream of
owning a motorbike. Hence Freedom on a Kickstand. Volcano comes from
a documentary I was watching on White Island. Dad spent nearly 30 years
working on the railway. This supplied the inspiration for Riding on a Train,
and Sitting on the platform. Battle of the River Plate came about because a
very good friend suggested I write about a battle or event from history that
had not been put into poetry. In our dining room, when I was a child, was a
photograph of the HMNZS Achilles. The two themes seemed to go hand in
hand. I kept as close to historical truth as possible on this one. I hope you
enjoy. Which one is your favourite?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Sep 17, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453566251

C.S. Grey

C. S Grey was born in Taumarunui New Zealand on 25 December 1977. He moved to Hamilton in 2001 where he met and later married his wife. He has a love of the sea and is a keen scuba diver and fisherman. The only English Qualification he has is School Certificate English. This is his first publication and will certainly not be his last.

Book preview

Changing Seasons

Spring

There is green. Lambs bleat in the morning light. The sun is as welcome as a desert rain. The melted snow swells the creeks and river like a father’s pride. The buds on the trees foretell of the colours to come

I Am the River

I start my journey on a hill

No larger than a trickle

As I descend I cut the land

Slicing like a sickle

Nothing can resist my force

I turn hard rock to sand

The strongest dam is in my way

Because I let it stand

In my fury I will flood

My rage be swelled with rain

I’ll not calm down until the sun

Shines down upon the plain

If you drown, it’s not my fault

I shall have no remorse

You cannot breathe within my realm

Never cross my course

As I meander on my way

I hear the ocean’s