The literary arts activism community has since been robbed of a selfless, creative dedicated, resilient literary arts captain and 2019 WOMAWORDS LITERARY PRESS Laureate Jamie Dedes . A literary arts activism revolutionary, Founding Editor of the BeZine Journal for Arts and Humanities, Founder and Managing Editor of The Poet by Day Zine. Dedes was a staunch advocate of social justice, human freedoms and good governance through poetry and literary arts activism. She was a literary arts partner of WOMAWORDS LITERARY PRESS, Brave Voices Poetry journal. Laureate Jamie Dedes immensely advocated, incessantly influenced and profoundly publicized for the protection and safety of Mbizo Chirasha, Zimbabwean poet in exile. Many of Mbizo Chirashas poems, essays and hybrid writings of his exile life and human justice were wholesomely published onto BeZine and The Poet by Day publications. Through her advocacy the PEN Deauschland offered Mbizo Chirasha a six months Free Speech Scholarship grant in 2020 that helped the resistance poet to continue writing and influence social justice and human freedoms through poetry arts, digital poetry collections and literary arts activism. Dedes was profoundly gifted, resilient, creative and highly spirited. I have decided to write this remembrance message and a eulogy in form of poem below. Jamie Dedes, may you rest beautifully in the warmth of the Lord our God.
When a giant tree falls, thunder echoes in our heart caves And when our lioness falls, our blood streams throb with a tinker of grief And then heavens weep with us Poetry massages our grief wounded hearts The warm touch of the Almighty bandages our scarred hope While God embrace the beautiful soul yet winged away from us by the eagles of death We are sure that beautiful soul will sit next to the Almighty’s golden throne Singing poetry for angels and then summon wordsmiths for a heavenly spoken word fringe And thus in us peace shall be restored, Jamie Dedes, your serenading, bold and beautiful versifications sit steadily in our mental boxes. Your metaphor incessantly itched rough hands of the devils like leprosy, Your voice of justice sings tranquility in our hearts still, Forever we will miss you, Your satire, prowess, dexterity have planted baobabs in our mental pastures And can never be uprooted. We supplicate to the power above to build you a holy poetry café and that you remain a singer of verses, proverbs and psalms As you sleep your sleep in harmony knowing poets shall forever speak poetry on this clay earth and inside the chambers of the holy heavens. I write this epitaph to you with a sandy heavy heart, Though something is telling that I must not drench your sleep with tears of grief, You was a great soul and forever you are and you will be It is raining today, angels of rain decided to mourn your sudden departure with me And all others in the literary arts revolutionary wagon, Trendsetters and heroines they do not die, they are pioneers to sculpture as always pathways both on earth and heaven, We shall forever follow your footsteps And erect your statue of resilience in our minds We summon editors, wordsmiths, readers and poets to carve a eulogy for your resistance Sleep well revolutionary sister Rest in my peace my resilient comrade Sleep well soul of resistance We shall forever plant acres of words on canvas, lampposts, headlines and internet templates to fulfil your legendary wishes Sleep well beautiful soul of resilience Sleep well bold spirit of resistance Till we meet again in the house, God built for us and we shall summon poets from all corners for a poetry reading, Again we shall not sleep tonight before we read a poem. Sleep well words commandant Sleep well poetry captain Sleep well literary arts revolutionary G Jamie Dedes Sleep well, Poet laureate.
Mbizo Chirasha is Unesco-Rila Affiliate Artist, Poet in Residence of the Fictional Cafe, and author of A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT.
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