Mr. Alien Nate 
A dialogue beween an individual and an extrterrestrial debating issues of hate and its destructive nature.

Me

I met an alien, his name was Nate,
It is short for Nathan Nathaniel
The Great.
We could relate
On many issues,
We could contrast and compare.
We were so different,
But eager to share.

I met him one night during
A lightning storm.
The temperature in my room,
Tepid, warm.
I saw this figure slowly transform;
A whirling dervish
Swirling in a swarm of energy
That slowly converted to look like me.

Nate

She told me honestly
How she was surprised,
By my normal shaped head
And regular eyes.
I asked why she labeled me 
Insidious
And I asked why the unknown 
Is always hideous.
 
Me

I met an alien his name was Nate,
I dealt delicately with his confusion.
He could not understand man’s rate
Of arrogance and exclusion.
He said that we were granted dominion
Over the animals and the elements,
Yet, we performed in his opinion
In ways illogical and irrelevant.

He was inquisitive
And picked my brain,
For reasons that could contain
The roots of logic,
To examine what he sees;
To justify the behavior of my species;
Obsessed with the will to win;
Soaked in selfishness,
Programmed to sin.  

I met an alien his name was Nate,
I asked him to be clear and elaborate,
On the planet he left to visit mine,
To learn about his culture and refine
My understanding, so I could immerse
Myself in knowledge of his universe.

Nate

We are united with similar goals.
We have our differences in actions and roles,
But we are not competitive,
Striving to be superior;
Beauty and love are on the interior
And exterior,
Without the need to make
Others inferior.

I can elaborate about the atmosphere.
We take care of our planet
And our work and careers.
We are focused on loving one another.
It is not merely a logo or slogan.
Once our civilization was broken,
Then we arrived at a point
Of being outspoken
About love being our salvation,
So we became open
To our sisters and brothers,
And working together to
Thrive more than survive,
Enjoying life and grateful 
To be alive.

Me

I met an alien, his name was Nate,
Who wondered why we discriminate.

Nate

Why do human beings with similar stories
Place each other in categories?
And why do you differentiate
And through differences 
Fail to communicate.

Why wouldn’t you work as a union,
For the improvement of all mankind,
Or engage in sweet communion,
Respectful of each other’s hearts and minds.
Why do you shun equality
Where some have to be on top
And some below?
Why is it difficult to give an apology
When guided by the id and ego.

How can you sleep when refugees are displaced;
Nations are plundered and disgraced?
Why are you personally locked on greed;
Ferociously protecting selfish needs
And reckless with animosity; 
Dismissing love and generosity.

Me

He wondered why we pillaged and plundered 
And raped the residents of the villages under
Our judgment and jurisdiction;
Why we conquer with conviction
And savagely dismember our own
With brutality that animals have seldom shown. 

Nate

How can so many people ever come together,
Unless you had to face invaders from science fiction?
Must a catastrophe reveal common convictions,
To successfully navigate and avoid
Attacks from pestilence or asteroids?
You must unite around a common threat.
Must you fear total annihilation,
Before you address
Violations against a universal moral code
And barbarous acts and heinous crimes
Perpetrated in these scandalous 
And perilous times? 

Me

I met an alien, his name was Nate
Selfishness he felt was
An inefficient use of resources;
A waste of potential and energy.
It did not maximize the forces
That existed, the synergy,
Inherent within our legacy.
Speak to us about your success,
Eliminating hopelessness and bitterness.

Nate 

We banished hopelessness and bitterness.
They vanished when dreams were subsidized.
We would not let people consider less
Than their potential fully utilized.
We do not have sex trafficking or genocide,
Nor a slave trade or exploitation, pride
Is practical to cause and we abstain
From harming others for personal gain;
A fanatical focus on pleasure,
Is illogical, but we treasure life. 

We have found purpose and do not rush
To the end of the day,
Crushing competitors along the way,

We do not disrespect with incivility,
Armed conflict and hostility.
When people challenge their institutions,
We don’t let them dismantle and destroy.
They look inwardly for solutions,
They look inwardly for morality
And character to build their personalities.


Me

I met an alien, his name was Nate,
He wanted to learn why people hate.
We discussed the universal fears;
Death, the outsider, insignificance,
The future and chaos, the difference
Between the occupants of our space;
Insecurities in the human race.

Nate

I would think you’d want to
Advance the species and protect
The Earth,
When children are born,
From the time of their birth,
They should be protected
And given a chance to prosper despite,
Arbitrary systems of wrong and right.	

Me

He questioned our objectives,
When we were conditioned to be;
When we were zealots to our perspectives
The preoccupation with pleasure;
To supplant purpose, as its substitute
And the destruction of authority
And hammering our institutions
When they provide structure
And temporary solutions;
To the complexities of our existence,
Giving us the faith for persistence 
And resistance.

I met an alien, his name was Nate
He wondered why we chose to complicate
Relationships with insincerity
And live our lives without clarity;
When we could establish expectations,
To remove guess work and speculation.
He felt we human were precarious
With insecurities that were nefarious.

Nate

Why do you visualize the world
And unknown sections of the universe,
As frightening regions under a curse?
Why do you see yourselves as the superior race,
When technologically your advances
May be commonplace.
You may need your confidence restored,
For your progress maybe mediocre at best 
Among civilizations unexplored.

Me

I met an alien, his name was Nate,
It is short for Nathan Nathaniel
The Great;
An extra-terrestrial born and raised,
In a galaxy where they never aged.

Nate

My people learned lessons
By following instructions
That were gifts from our leaders
Of conscious deduction;
To steer away from actions
That lead to destruction,
For many things make common sense;
To love one another
And come to the defense
Of anyone for we all are neighbors,
Created by God to learn from our labors;
And granted with gifts
To nourish and enhance
Our species in order to advance.

Me

I met a man his name was Nate,
He traveled the world to penetrate
Man’s secrets and fear of the unknown;
His ego and propensity
To enslave his own;
His savage streak and need to rule,
His thirst for power and to ridicule.

Nate

I sat in silence, as she tried to explain.
Why human’s nature causes so much pain.
We had a conversation about fate.
I would not confirm or deny,
Her belief in a deity beyond the sky.
I take solace, as a humble visitor,
From my cosmological celestial shore.

Me

Was he an angel from the other side?
Was he a messenger,
A fugitive on the run,
Searching for a place to hide?
Or was he my imaginary rabbit,
Like Harvey in the movies long ago?
My new friend challenged my habits,
Tried to make sense of my world,
Which also helped me to grow.

I met an alien,
His name was Nate,
He asked me to contemplate
And concentrate
On poverty and starvation;
Distribution of wealth
And property,
Among disparate nations;
And man’s inhumanity to man;
The reality in our galaxy
That selfishness is a fallacy,
As a solution.
In God’s plan,
Love is the answer,
Only love can address our ills 
And give us peace
And the necessary skills
To live in harmony.

Copyright © 2017 Orlando Ceaser
Reprinted from the book The Grass is the First to Go by Orlando Ceaser available at orlandoceaser.com