The BeZine, Vol. 7, Issue 4, December 2020: Life of the Spirit and Activism – Remembering G. Jamie Dedes, The Poet by Day

The Gatherer

She gathered words into pictures
Painting busy country landscapes and quiet city corners
Capturing snapshots of people in moments and memories 
Saturating each word with hues of love, longing, laughter and latitude

She gathered people into communities
Families sharing interests instead of blood
The ideals of justice and equality 
Coursing through veins of connection

She gathered breaths like flowers
Gifting us with the perfume of inspiration
Scattering petals of thoughts and dreams
Planting seedlings of empowerment

She gathered accolades and gratitude
She gathered love and admiration 
She gathered a life of purpose
And now we gather to remember and honor her

Photos of Jamie courtesy of Wendy Rose Alger, used with permission.

Besides the pandemic, this year was also significant for me with the passing of Jamie Dedes who blogged on The Poet by Day. When I first started blogging, I stumbled across the Poet by Day’s Wednesday Writing Prompts and was hooked (you can read my first response to her prompt here). Many of the poems I wrote for her prompts have found forever homes in anthologies and other publications. Jamie’s prompts were thought provoking and gut punching. She made me think about the world outside of my little life. She connected me to other poets who were using their words to change the world.

A prime example is the BeZine that dedicated it’s December issue themed “Life of the Spirit and Activism” to Jamie. Jamie founded the BeZine and this theme captures some important aspects of Jamie that were a true inspiration and aspiration for me.

Jamie changed lives with her words – written and spoken, in poetry and prose. She will be missed.

You can read more tributes to Jamie and other poetry on the theme “Life of the Spirit and Activism” on the BeZine here. My tribute to Jamie (above) is included in this issue.

©️ 2020 iido