Cocoon, a poem for Christina Grimmie

I haven't shared anything in a while, but I have continued to write daily since NaPoWriMo, which was a conscious decision and something that I really want to continue for the rest of my days. I haven't yet found the strength to write a piece on the Orlando shooting... I don't like to force creativity and it just hasn't come yet. But the night after Christina Grimmie was murdered, this one came to me.

I followed her on YouTube back before she hit it big, and I can very honestly say that she was one of the people who inspired me to start a YouTube Channel. I did not continue to follow her beyond that, so I didn't even know she was on The Voice or that she had made it so big. To think that if she hadn't gone after her huge dreams, she'd still be here... I don't know what to make of that. It bothers me in the same way that Aaliyah's death bothered me, even though those were two very different circumstances.

To be so close to what you wanted and then have it ripped away... I don't have any platitudes to wash this pain away for her fans or family. What comforting words can you offer when a loss is so senseless? That's where my mind is at with this, and that's the space where this poem comes from. If you were a fan of hers, my deepest condolences go out to you.

Cocoon

In memory of Christina Grimmie (1994-2016)

Did your sky come crashing down on you tonight?
Did the heavens open up just to rain blood into your eyes?
Did you cry but find your vision's yet to clear?
I wish that something I could say
could take away your fear.

I have slept inside the chalk lines
and felt tired fingers let go of time.
But I bring no comfort
because I still don't know why.

Cool and breathless is the night
that steals one heartbeat
to break so many lives.

I'll lie in my bed tonight, mindless yet triggered.
What a strange and thoughtless choice of words.
You'll play and rewind—pay every time—
and never forget what you saw and heard.

There are no answers.
May death be a cocoon—
a rite of passage to rebirth.

(Photo credit: ChristinaGrimmie.com)