by Kelly Pelton (written 19 June 2025)

Evil empire's pressuring hostility
cast a shadow, the Death Star* looming;
I analyzed its tactics used on me,
learning resistance as clarity got me fuming.

But righteous indignation's still a tether
keeping grave injustices too near,
while all my pushing back is like a feather
rather than a giant cosmic spear.

The evil is too dense and large to shatter;
it's time for me to peel off at warp speed
and thrust out into goodness as stars scatter,
love of God that meets my deepest need.

The Death Star was an orienting marker,
so familiar in its theme repeating,
making my existence ever darker,
playing on my mind's old self-defeating.

I've been set free from lies and self-division,
all of me together in God's hand,
no more pain from inner self-derision,
only grace and love that help me stand.

And stand I will, while flying through God's spacious
universe of love's unending kiss.
It's love that will be truly efficacious,
crushing evil and restoring bliss.

*with thanks to the movie Star Wars IV, A New Hope, 1977