Nate Carsto

Starting life as a seedling
The young white oak is innocent and free to flow with the wind.
Having not known before,
The diseases and parasites
Which will undoubtedly attempt to
Blacken, damage, and cast a slur upon him and his future;
This young and naïve seedling knows no evil.
He is inexperienced, new, and most pure-
And he is euphoric in his lack of knowledge and experience with these
Social and bureaucratic diseases and parasites.
Sent form and otherwise known as
The dominant ones of the-
UNITED TREES OF THE FOREST.
These are the trees that soak up all the best sunlight
And leave only a remnant of that much needed, nurturing light for the small and weak.

As the seedling grows into a sapling, then, further,
Finally reaching full maturity
He suddenly starts to detect the diseases and parasites trying to penetrate
His bark, unnoticed and guilefully, in order to reach his heartwood,
The core of his trunk,
Once in the center
Like brainwashers, they, the diseases and parasites,
They try to corrupt, warp, and rot, his heartwood, his core,
Subtly causing him to do as they wish, like a drone, unconsciously.
He is resistant.
He is resentful.
Thought he is tired, with branches drooping,
Though he is weathered, showing broken branches and rough and wrinkled bark;
He knows he must use all of his
Strength, experience and knowledge of these things
To battle these trees that dominate and misuse the canopy,
These greedy, wasteful, tyrannical ones of the United Trees of the Forest.

This now older, wiser white oak also battles within himself the
Sarcastic, jaded, cynical nature, which could overcome him
Should he let it.
Regardless, he will not turn his back on the task at hand,
To ensure that more light is shone on the smaller shorter trees under the canopy
And to eradicate the diseases, parasites, and the big trees.

Still he often longs for the simplicity of ignorance
And the freedom to flow wherever, however, and whenever the wind may blow.
He wonders-
Can bliss only be achieved through ignorance?

The Straight and Narrow

Here I find myself
Walking this long road
Where will it lead me?
How long have I been here?
Has it been days, months, weeks, years?
Sometimes everything looks the same.
Which direction am I going?
This road is seldom straight and seldom flat
There are no maps of this road
Nor are there trail blazes for I am the first to travel it.
Often times the road may seem grim.
Dark clouds block my view and I cannot see where I’m going.
I get rained on occasionally,
But the storm passes and I dry.

The longer I walk this road
The more I come to know it.
The once dark forest that obstructed my view of my surroundings,
At times see to thin out, and light,
And I can see around me.
The desert mirages disappear and,
I see the desert for what it really is.
Over time I’ve learned a few things
I drop rocks on the path behind me
So I know where I’ve been,
And vaguely what direction I’m going.
It’s important to know where you’ve been
So you don’t revisit unwanted and wretched places.
An important fact to remember is,
No matter how many mountains lie in your path,
There will always be a downgrade ahead.

So, here I find myself
Walking this long road.
As I travel further,
It becomes clearer that this path I travel
Can only become more treacherous
With more hills, mountains, curves,
Clouds, dark forests, and desert hallucinations.
Still, I fear not this road.
Now I am a proficient traveler.
I’ve seen many things, and been many places,
No longer will darkness, misguiding mirages, darkness, and storms
Bring me fright and dismay.
I will find my destination at the end of the road.
I don’t know what it looks like or where it is,
But I’ll know when I’m there.

Caped Crusader

They call me the cape crusader
More about this later.
I wear a metallic suit
With muscles shaped into it, so I look like a brute.
I don’t wear the traditional blue and gray or
Black with the yellow bat
Instead it’s gray and orange
To match my car, a ’68 Charger
The General Lee
For the Batmobile is in my garage
On blocks, waiting for repair.

On a daily basis I have many tasks,
Whether it’s the Joker, Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, or devious villains in masks.
These villains keep me on my toes
With out them, and no job, what would I do?
Who knows.
I might end up being hung on trees
Like my buddies
Wolverine and Spiderman
Waiting for crossbow pistol target practice
In Nate’s yard.

You might often find me fighting crime,
From the dashboard of a GMC pickup to any store,
Maybe a nickel and dime.
My suit is all armor plated,
I have everything in my utility belt,
I am so elated.
I can’t wait to find some villains,
Maybe leave them with a welt.
This is where the crusader comes in
You might see me
Hop in the General Lee
And toot my horn,
Dixie,
As I jump over a creek
To bring to justice some villainous creep.
Oh, I do love this job!
Whenever you need me
Just flash the bat signal,
I’ll be there before you can say,
“What about bob?”