My Poetry 

I am a 13 year old boy who loves to explore and travel. I am an Army Cadet at the 2573 Regiment. I want to become a officer in the Canadian military. I love playing sports, like rugby and ultimate, and being outside. Which is why I’m an OCR (Obstacle Course Race) competitor and am planning to compete at the elite level. 

Heavy bag on my shoulder Butterflies in my stomach Big green bus screeches to a halt Role call bags below Find a seat A lurch, a rumble, and then we go Off the bus into a wall of hot air Marched to the barracks Assigned a bunk below Hope the one above doesn’t snore Smell of bleach burns my nose At least it’s clean Marching, briefing, eating, sleeping Three days in we go off base Mountain peak to valley below Camping, swimming, survival shelters Shooting, hiking, talking to a General 15th Platoon, your turn to eat Burned food, missing home, way too hot, not enough sleep When can I go back? Caleb Erb

People are born inherently good but decisions you make can change good to bad. Volunteering to help others in your community or just helping yourself. Doing something with your life to benefit humanity or just your pocket book. Saving the rainforest or making a new field for GMO crops.

People are born inherently good but decisions you make can change good to bad. Volunteering to help others in your community or just helping yourself. Doing something with your life to benefit humanity or just your pocket book. Saving the rainforest or making a new field for GMO crops.

Street Clean Up Stomp, stomp, stomp feet marching The claw bites the wrapper on the ground Crinkling and rustling as trash falls into my bucket Joking, jostling, jabbering we wend our way An olive drab gang doing street clean up Vroom, swoosh, growl cars zoom past A honk, a wave, a greeting The crunch of tires on gravel slowing Sweet smell, warm cup A hot chocolate thank you for cleaning up Caleb Erb

Fishing at Ruth Lake Slap slap slap creeeak slam crunch crunch screeeeee sloop Bloop bloop bloop Whizzzz plop Click whir click whir Whiiiirrrr wheeeeeeeeeee Click wrow wrow wrow Flapflapflapflapflap thunk Bloop bloop bloop Screeeeee crunch crunch Creeeak slam slap slap slap Thunk, click click click Sizzle By Caleb Erb

What a Beaver is I am a beaver and it is very true that I have a lot of things to do My country strong and free where everyone has a chance at equality Building is my specialty and making my home creates biodiversity I care for my community and my work also benefits humanity Cleaning water, preventing floods, restoring wetlands is why I’m always in a rush So what’s your excuse for being so busy that you don’t take the time to consider me Cutting down trees, destroying habitat without a thought For my friends and I and where will we have a spot to live I stand on guard for thee as representative of the Combat Engineers in the military Like me they are busy, defending your freedom and right to live in peace Building bridges, building roads, making a way for people to move At home and abroad, in peace and in war, helping others is what they live for I may not be the biggest or strongest or fastest, with my buck teeth and flat tail But I represent hard work and community from a nation that upholds these as their ideal By Caleb Erb

Life of a cadet The military college Rock climbing is great I don’t like poems Poems are so hard to write Dyslexia sucks Rugby is like life You get hit and knocked down But you get back up

Worldview Actions define us like the dark and light sides of the Force, everyone knows you from what you do. Helping others as if they were yourself, look in to the mirror, do you really see you? The goal in life should be to benefit the human race, just like Albert Einstein’s Quantum Theory turned ideas about light into a television screen, small starts can lead to the extraordinary. Everyone should have the same opportunities in life. Just like a tiny babe born in a Jerusalem stable became the greatest voice in history. His story. Not a fable.

People look for the short cut the hack The shortcut is a lie The hack doesn’t get you there The easy road won’t get you where you want to be There is no easy way There must be discipline Discipline, the root of all good qualities Discipline defeats the infinite excuses There is only one way Discipline is the way Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual By Jocko Willink I paraphrased and shortened the text and reorder the words of one chapter. Caleb Erb

I am like a wolverine: tough, fast, strong and built like a tank Ferocious on the rugby pitch While the wolverine is solitary, I am a team player Committed, loyal, willing to fight On and off the field Green garbed compatriots of the Cadet Corps My other team and my future vocation Special Forces operator, the best of the best My greatest fear conquered: being second best Super Soldier I see a great Oak tree, strong with unmovable roots But its branches sway in the strong breeze flexing so they don’t break I understand the lesson you are teaching me, tree. Through the storms of dyslexia The repetitive struggle, trapped beneath a mountain of letters, drowning in words that don’t make sense I grow thick roots solid and deep so I can weather the storm But I must remain pliant, lithe, moving with the wind as it changes direction and I must move with it, find a new way, or break I will not break All letters jumping Dyslexia my challenge It’s so hard to read Hush my mind, shhhh Quiet whoossssssh lub dub, lub dub, lub dub my heart silence my mind Go down swinging. Fight with all you have, and you won’t go down at all. You will win. You have to make that attitude a part of your everyday life. Give the full measure. Stand and fight. Fight against weakness.Againstfear.Againsttimeandagainstdecay. FIGHT BACK. Go down swinging; give every day everything you’ve got And when you face a challenge Even something you don’t believe you can win or know you cannot win Remember this: YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE STAND UP GO FORWARD (“Fight” by Jocko Willink from Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual)

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