The Forests of Alderaan

Posted on 2025-05-04 by Bartholomew Barker

I preferred the autumns of my childhood.
Spring blossoms were too poofy and bright
like the ceremonial gowns I was made to wear.

My favorite jewels were the flat stones
I would skip across the water. My best friends,
the humming moss growing on the palace wall.

But I will never walk those forests
again. Never smell the falling leaves
nor chew the sweet twigs of my youth.

And while I didn’t pull the trigger
or light the fire, my trees, my lake,
my home, all gone because of me.

I may be a princess but I’m no damsel in distress
and I swear that they will pay for all they’ve destroyed.

 

(May the Fourth be with you.)

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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9 Responses to The Forests of Alderaan

  1. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2025-05-04 at 19:05

    Good except for I don’t get this line: “all gone because of me”. Obviously I’ve forgotten something of the canon story. But you look good as a Funko toy. In fact, isn’t “Funko” your middle name?

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    • Bartholomew Barker's avatar Bartholomew Barker says:
      2025-05-04 at 19:23

      Funko is just one of my middle names…

      Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star when they were trying to get Leia to tell them the location of the rebel base.

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      • JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
        2025-05-04 at 19:38

        Okay this will be the third time I’m trying to reply to you because WordPress sucks. Just recently when I was reading the comments on my last blog post the software asked me to subscribe to my own blog!

        Anywho…. thanks. I knew who blew up Alderean but could not bring the details to mind. Of course it wasn’t her fault but yes the character probably would have thought so.

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      • Bartholomew Barker's avatar Bartholomew Barker says:
        2025-05-04 at 19:52

        Yeah, if the movies hadn’t been made for kids, I bet they would’ve explored that guilt. (I also would’ve made Luke the bad guy for the most recent trilogy so he followed the same sort of arc as his father but I’m a poet, not a screenwriter.)

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  2. berniebell1955's avatar berniebell1955 says:
    2025-05-05 at 04:42

    Yay! Star Wars Day! Ewoks Rule! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb2ezMFXOhM

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  3. berniebell1955's avatar berniebell1955 says:
    2025-05-07 at 02:51

    You did!

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