Everyone Has a Different Favourite

These poems were almost all written on the spur of the moment. I sat up at 2am tapping on the keyboard and when I had finished, the poem Insomnia wason the page. Bones (A True Dog Story) comes from the stories my father tellsof his hunting dog. The way he tells about the eel episode always brings alaugh. The Greatest Eagle, Under the Scorching sun and The Real Pharaoh allcome from my love of wild things. I Want to be a Sailor and When I put tosea came from my love of the sea and being on ships and boats. I wrote MyCountry, My Home while sitting on a cliff top overlooking the west coast ofNew Zealand, which also inspired The old Lady on the Hill. Changing Seasonswas 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 violentthunderstorm. 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 shadowslie. The saddest of all the poems in this collection, The Last Goodbye, isa tribute to a very good friend (who was also my first girlfriend) who waskilled in early 2010 aged 30. For some time now I have had a dream ofowning a motorbike. Hence Freedom on a Kickstand. Volcano comes froma documentary I was watching on White Island. Dad spent nearly 30 yearsworking 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 avery good friend suggested I write about a battle or event from history thathad not been put into poetry. In our dining room, when I was a child, was aphotograph of the HMNZS Achilles. The two themes seemed to go hand inhand. I kept as close to historical truth as possible on this one. I hope youenjoy. Which one is your favourite?