'Free And Clear' a Tribute To Summer Breeze Poem by red slider

introduction:

'free and clear.' Those were the last earth-bound words from Summer—

aka Summer Breeze, aka Edy Benjamin, aka Motherbird, Jalapeno Pepper, Moongate de Sentiens, Publisher, poet, editrix, Champion-of-the-Oppressed, Map-For-Lost-Poets, Rx for the wounded, soup-kitchen for the down-and out, mender-of-broken-wings and steward of Summer's Hill, friend, and just plain old good soul—

after she flew away on May 20th,2014. As Summer might put it, 'Those aka's, they're 'All Knowledgeable Associates' of mine, and I'm taking them with me.'

Summer was all of her AKAs and more, always there no matter what the need or occasion. Now, she's 'free & clear', but not quite. she left two of her aka's behind, just so we wouldn't forget —an oxygen bottle for our minds and a blue Bombay gin bottle for our hearts. On these pages, we can read her works or share our stories, poems and tributes and just be here, for and about our dear friend.

So I post this here to celebrate a life that will never quite leave us. An endless summer that begins with this solstice of 2014 and goes on and on and on. As Summer would say, 'You have my permission.


Conversations With My Editrix

Inspiration on a Light Summer Breeze --
(or, never argue with a Motherbird. She always
knows which way the wind blows.)

One summer evening Summer wrote:

i remember they were promised
promised to go to the holy land
if only they'd stop fighting
especially fighting over 'the holy land'
does that mean
a land is only holy if there is constant bloody war over
who owns it
who's god is the 'real' god
oh
my
God
how
bloody you must look
after all these thousands of years
a God with a red suit on
imagine that...er, er...
What's His name again?

...and continued the next morning:

i was wearing my lame shoes when i emailed last
then [the night before] i had coffee
put together a cronic ology
of a few minutes before night had fallen
printed them out for my lucky me morning visitor
who made me join him in his belly laughing
at Red Breeze & Sumer Slider

to t'wit:

red wrote:

It's not a 'His'; it's a 'Her', and her name is 'Ms. Claws' (red suit and all) - jeesh, Summer, this is the 21st century!

summer wrote:

ok yeah i heard
something about going from patrichoal to matriorchal
i jus' didn' join cause i'd been there be 4
holdin' out for neither/nor

red wrote:

ok, how about meteorarchical?
We come in like shooting stars,
make a big splash in the desert and people can come for centuries,
look into our craters and say, 'I wonder who made that hole? '

summer wrote:

you ever been in a sand splash?
can you imagine how beautiful the desert will be this year
with all the rain fall this winter

36 days and counting down

red wrote:

All us little meteors
sliding down
among the rain drops,
streaming blues and reds
and greens, our sleds
shining off the liquid sky,
brief flashes of delight
whose soul and only mission
is to scream
'wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! '
and bury our heads in mother earth
to the delight of pilgrims passing by
on their annual moment of respite
from their dreary human lives,
to spend a moment staring up
at the gardens of the sky.

summer wrote:

may i have your pretty permission to blog this exchange?
well if not anyhoo, the best is already mine
printed and tucked into my 'bare essentials saving file'

Red writes:

'anyhoo' means 'anyhoo, I will do it
whether you say anyhoo-yes or anyhoo-no,
'cause I know what's best
whether you do, or not.'

of course she had my permission.
She'd have posted it anyway,
just to make me look good
in her company.


[from an email conversation between Summer Breeze and Red Slider, February 2010.]
****************************

Permissions (by Summer Breeze)

Permission

my body was cold and shivered
and shivered and shivered until it was warm
tears fell
and fell and fell till they were gone,
my campfire said, it's good to know cold,
the full moon says, it's good to know aching,
the refugees say, care a child and you can go on.

I said body you have my permission to shiver
all the fears learned in childhood,
shiver out the fear of the unknown
make a lighter heart of company,
meet a stranger, make no stranger eyes.

Heads or tails, no
just arms and legs winding
walking, directing
this non-play no one applauds,
this long stretch home.
We all went home, the comforts aren't
just being,
you mean to hold
and know we're not alone.
Circles, trying circles
making heads and tails
of light enough to heal
a shattered heart.

—Summer Breeze