POET'S CENTO TO HER STAR
1.
my hands are dirty
my hands are dirty, too
I have felt it
the ground sure feels strange
how is that possible
luminous beings we are
here, between you, me
other places, the future, the past
only what you take with you
it'd take a thousand ships
ten thousand
three or four seasons
a period of civil war
they say it's quite a thing to see
the dune sea
we'd fly right through the star
a long time
fall in, fall in
it's like a dream
its energy surrounds us
like we're being watched
I saw a city in the clouds
the tree, the rock, everywhere
not this crude matter
closer
I must be allowed to speak
I'm not even sure which planet I'm from
it's much too rocky
it's too far out of range
it just let go of me and disappeared
I'm standing here in pieces
you know it to be true
help, I think I'm melting
2.
it's a very long drop
the cave
I am defenseless
why did you have to be so brave
ask me again sometime
I feel cold
that is why you fail
your eyes can deceive you
I feel the good in you
good against the living
that's something else
it won't be easy to hear but you must
remember your failure at the cave
there is no why
you've only just forgotten
the one you've been carrying inside
no there is another
it is the name of your true self
someone who loves you
that’s no moon
hear me
rise, my friend
you cannot hide forever
I have felt it
even between the land and the ship
it surrounds us and binds us
just images really, feelings
quicker, easier, more seductive
I can feel your anger
I can feel it
don’t be afraid
you're coming with me
see for yourself
3.
there's something familiar about this place
where are you
there's something out there
you're safe
I promise I won't hurt you
star destroyer
who are you?
bring her to me
gently now
to the horizon
your weapons
you will not need them
you will be
you will be
an elegant weapon for a more civilized age
you must unlearn what you have learned
we have no time for sorrows
fighters above you, coming in
no disintegrations
follow me on the next pass
I can't hold them off forever
I saw them
I can't keep the vision out of my head
a danger that looms like a shadow over everything we've built
patience, my friend
it is the future you see
always in motion the future
we're passing through the magnetic field
I can't go alone
let go
then we float away
one thing remains
echo
echo
all lines taken from Star Wars Episodes IV, V, & VI
VANESSA JIMENEZ GABB is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection, Basic Needs (Rescue Press, fall 2021) and Images for Radical Politics (Rescue Press, 2016). She is from and lives in Brooklyn, NY.