'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE STAR WARS
'Twas the night before Star Wars (for my family)
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.
The props were laid out on the table with care
In hopes theater workers won’t care what we wear.
The padawan was nestled all snug in his bed,
While visions of light sabers flashed in his head.
And I in my blue jeans, sweatshirt, and cap
Had just settled down to check Fandango’s app.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the kitchen I flew like a flash,
Grabbed the Glad Bag and sneakily took out the trash.
The moon on the grass after new-fallen rain
Glistened like mid-day all down the lane.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the Millenium Falcon—I had to cheer!
With a slightly old pilot, and Wookie in tow,
I knew right away it was Han Solo.
More rapid than X-Wings his companions came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Luke! Now, Leia ! Now, C3PO-ah!
Come, Chewie! Come, Lando! Come, R2DayTow-ah!
Move away from the porch! And away from the wall!
Now hide away! Hide away! Hide away all!"
So, into the driveway the companions they ran,
With blasters and sabers, they hid in my van.
The droids were much slower with nowhere to go.
They pretended to be trash cans, so no one would know.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard someone say,
"What happened? Where are we? What day is today?"
I walked back inside, began turning around,
And through the window burst forth a Sith lord with a bound.
He was dressed all in leather, from his head to his foot,
And his face had been painted the colors he put.
A red light saber he lit to impress,
And he looked like a demon, just from his dress.
His eyes--they glowed yellow! His horns they were ugly!
His cheeks were striped boldly; he smiled so smugly!
I then froze in fear—so unsure what to do.
He laughed, and he paced with his saber blades two.
When all of a sudden behind me I hoyed (that’s Boston for “heard”)
The princess, the jedi, the pilot, the droid.
They came to my rescue and fought the Sith lord,
They battled for hours; I never was bored.
They fought in the kitchen; one jumped on a shelf.
And I laughed when I saw it, in spite of myself.
Luke Skywalker in MY kitchen—too good to be true!
Han Solo and Leia and R2D2!
They killed the Sith lord, and then stopped to rest.
Then Yoda appeared saying, “Passed you did the test.”
With a sigh of relief, the Rebels rose to take leave.
They protected my family, I fully believe.
They boarded the Falcon, having done what they came for,
And away they all flew in the midst of a downpour.
But I heard them exclaim, ‘ere they flew out of sight,
"May the force be with y’all, and to y’all a good-night!"
An adaptation of the "'Twas the Night before Christmas" poem - by Laura Zielke
© 2015 Laura Zielke. All rights reserved.
